Rise of The Village Hidden in Hell
by Kyuubi no Ryu
Summary: A strange new teacher comes and takes Kakashi's place as the sensei of Team 7. Watch as three legends are born.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Note: This story is going to be published on two different sites. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in anyway, shape or form. I make no money in this endeavor whatsoever. Onward!**

Sarutobi took a deep puff of his pipe. The new jounin was already in an argument with Kakashi. "I want Team 7," the dark-haired man said calmly, his arms folded across his chest. Kakashi's one visible eye was narrowed at the other jounin.

"I'm the only one who can teach Sasuke how to use his Sharingan when it manifests. You only just moved into this village, Himaru-san, you're in no condition t o be making requests." Himaru's dark blue eyes seemed to pierce right through Kakashi as he spoke.

"That is exactly why you shouldn't teach him. Once he develops his Sharingan, you'll start training him more instead of training his teammates. Konoha might lose two potential heroes if you teach him." Kakashi really felt like punching this man. Before Kakashi could retort, Himaru started up again. "Not to mention, I've studied demons for along time. I can teach Naruto how to use Kyuubi without him losing control." There were small gasps from some of the other new jounin. Sarutobi raised his eyebrow at Himaru.

"And how do you know Naruto is Kyuubi's container?" Himaru smiled grimly at the Hokage.

"I'm afraid it's not hard to figure out, Hokage-sama. "

"How do we know you won't show favoritism towards Naruto?" Kakashi argued. Himaru smiled again, though this time it was more in mockery of Kakashi.

"Simple. For Naruto to be able to control the Kyuubi safely, he'll need multiple ties to his sanity. In other words, team bonding is key. What better way to insure that, then with group training?" Kakashi clenched both fists, but released them with a sigh.

"Fine. You can have them." Himaru smiled once again. Sarutobi coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, now that the teams have been finalized, you're all dismissed!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Now the story really begins! Onward!**

Naruto had one of the biggest grins ever imagined plastered on his face. He was finally a ninja, and to top it off, Sakura was on his team. So what if the teme was too, he was still riding his wave of happiness. Naruto barely registered when Iruka began talking again.

"You're jounin-senseis will be arriving shortly to take you away and begin your training. From this moment on, you're ninjas of Konohagakure no Sato! Good luck!" Almost immediately after he finished speaking, a group of jounin showed up. The very first one in the line for some reason actually drew Naruto's attention. Naruto analyzed every aspect of the man without really knowing why. Dark blue eyes, black hair with sort of spiky bangs, black, multi-pocketed pants, and tight black shirt with a traditional green jounin vest. He wore fingerless black gloves with metal knuckle guards, and traditional black shinobi sandals.

"Team 7, come with me." The man's voice reminded Naruto of the Third's. They didn't' sound similar, but he still sounded friendly while commanding respect as well. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all got up and followed the man out the door. He led them down the hall and out of the academy building. Finally, he sat down on the swing just outside the academy. He gestured for them to sit. "Okay, tell me your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams."

"Um, why don't you go first, Sensei?" Sakura suggested.

"Eh, why not? Okay, my name's Himaru, I have no surname, I don't feel like telling you my likes, dislikes or hobbies, and my dream…I'll tell you that later." Everyone sweat dropped. All they learned was his first name!

'Talk about living up to you're name,' Sakura thought in annoyance.

"Okay, Pinkie, you first." Sakura grumbled at the nickname, but answered nonetheless.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, I like…" a blushing glance at Sasuke. "I dislike Ino-pig and Naruto! My hobbies…" another blushing glance at Sasuke. "And my dream is to…" this time both blushing and giggling. Himaru felt his eye twitch.

'Oh well, I expected that kind of attitude at first.' "You, Emo-boy." Sasuke quietly growled at his nickname.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. I like almost nothing, I dislike almost everything, I don't have any hobbies, and my dream, no, my _ambition_ is to resurrect my clan…. And to kill a certain man." Himaru mentally sighed. Couldn't any of these kids _not _be like he expected?

"Okay, now you, Blondie." Naruto ignored his nickname. He'd been called worse.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen and Sakura-chan, I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook ramen, my hobbies are testing new kinds of ramen and comparing different kinds of ramen. Oh, and training too. But my dream, my dream is to be the next and greatest Hokage!" Himaru smiled.

"Well, so far Naruto is the only one who isn't creepy on some level," Sakura and Sasuke scowled at that, "but I must say your aiming a little low there, Naruto." Two and a half jaws dropped. A half because Sasuke is too 'cool' to let his jaw drop. Naruto on the other hand, was off in la la land. Only two people had ever said his dream was anything but stupid, and now this guy was saying he was aiming too low? Himaru clapped to get their attention.

"Do you guys want to hear a secret?" Sakura and Naruto looked at him quizzically. Himaru grinned at them. "Normally, I'd put you guys through a rigorous teamwork test that you'd have a two-thirds chance of failing and then being booted back to the academy." Even Sasuke's eyes widened this time. "But since it's based on teamwork, I know you guys would fail horribly at it, so I'm not going to waste my time." Everyone started to look downcast, though Sasuke looked more angry than sad. "So you pass!" Now everyone was just plain stumped.

"Wh-what?" Sakura stammered. "You said we'd fail it?"

"You would, but the thing is, I know in just a little while, you'd pass it in flying colors if under my wing. But, since I do need to drive the point of teamwork into your skulls now, especially yours, Sasuke, I'm going to show you something. Himaru stood and walked over to the side a little bit. "Sasuke, feel free to attack me with everything you've got at any moment." With that, he turned around. He freaking turned around. Sasuke's pride had taken too many hits in the past few minutes, and he lunged at Himaru's exposed back. In a flash, Sasuke was pinned to the grown, a hand around his throat. Sakura looked scared shitless.

"Don't step on Sasuke!" she cried out, while Inner Sakura was cussing her brains out. Himaru ignored her.

"Now think, what would happen if say, you or Naruto attack me while I was busy holding Sasuke right now?" When no response came, Himaru sighed. "I would have to release him at least partially to fend you off, leaving me exposed to him again." Sasuke meanwhile was still trying to squirm out from under Himaru. Their sensei pressed harder on his throat and spine. "Pay attention, Sasuke." Himaru turned his attention back to Sakura and Naruto. "Are you waiting for an invitation?" Naruto's hands flew through seals.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three more Naruto's appeared and they surrounded Himaru before charging. Himaru released his hand from Sasuke and quickly dispatched the clones and smacked Naruto back, but Sasuke managed to pry free from under him and land a kick to his jaw before rolling away. Himaru smiled at them.

"Good. But Sakura, you should have helped as well." Sakura looked downcast. Even the idiot did better than she did. And he even knew how to make solid clones. Noticing her sorrow, Himaru spoke again. "Oh well, that's what practice is for. Don't worry, once I'm done with all of you, you'll be like a single super being!" All the genin on Team 7 felt a wave of absolute terror and dread wash over them. He was grinning _waaay_ too nicely.

**What do you think? Please read and review, constructive criticism is welcome and my dragons will eat you if you flame me.**


	3. Training Begins

**I got reviews, and they were nice, too! Yay! Time to start driving Team 7 into the ground! Onward!**

"Ow, ow! That hurts!" Naruto was on his rump, holding one very angry cat away from his face. Sakura giggled at him, and Sasuke reported in to Himaru through his earpiece.

"Target has been captured and verified, over."

"Good. Meet back at the Hokage Tower with the target, over." Sasuke turned to Naruto, who had finally ditched the cat on Sakura.

"Stupid cat," he mumbled as the cat just purred contentedly in Sakura's lap. Sasuke mentally sighed at his teammates, and then starting running towards the Hokage Tower, Naruto and Sakura close behind. The hopped across several roofs before they made it and walked through the door.

"Oh, my poor little Tiger Wiger!" The daimyo's wife swooped in like a vulture on the poor cat, scooping it up and squeezing it. Every single member of the team sweat dropped, even the recently shown up Himaru.

'No wonder it ran away,' Sakura thought. Once the important woman paid and left, Sarutobi began shuffling through some papers.

"Let's see now, for Team 7, I believe Himaru made a special request for a mission to get ride of excess trash in the Konoha Dump."

'At least it's not capturing a cat,' Naruto thought.

'I guess I can practice my fire jutsu,' Sasuke thought.

'The _dump_? Ewww,' Sakura cringed slightly at the thought. Himaru smiled at his team.

"Well, let's go!" His hand blurred out, and the entirety of Team 7 disappeared in a poof. They reappeared by mounds upon mounds of filth.

"Huh?" Naruto spluttered, his head swinging from side to side. Before anyone could ask, Himaru explained.

"Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu (Mass Body Flicker Technique). It's a neat little way to travel in groups. I'll probably teach it to you guys later. But first," Himaru walked over to stand next to a mound of garbage. "I'm going to teach you this. Watch carefully." Himaru began slowly going through hand seals: dragon-rooster-ram. Himaru thrust his hands forward and a massive wall of crimson flame spread out from his palms, turning the gigantic mound to a small lump of ash.

"Whoa," Naruto breathed, and then he grinned madly. "Awesome. I wanna try!" Naruto put his hand together but Himaru stopped him, with his own hand.

"As important as enthusiasm is, wait for me to finish. "Naruto nodded and grinned sheepishly. "That was Katon: Kasai Myakuhaku no Jutsu (Flame Release: Fire Pulse Technique). Simple but effective, you summon fire chakra to your hands while you perform the seals and then release the chakra through your palms in the form of fire. Practice on the trash." Naruto looked at Himaru blankly.

"Fire chakra?" Sakura sighed.

"Was they're a single class you didn't sleep through, Naruto?" Himaru chuckled as Sakura scolded the shame-faced Naruto.

"Now, now, Sakura. I'll explain. As you know, chakra is the combined spiritual and physical energy in one's body. This energy, or chakra, is what we ninja use to perform most of our jutsus. There are several kinds of chakra, but right now I'll only talk about five: fire, water, wind, earth and lightning. Each typed has its own unique feel to it. You channel chakra through pathways in your body and manipulate it using hand seals and sheer force of will." Sakura sighed. Naruto wasn't going to-

"I got it, sensei." Sakura had to forcefully hold her jaw up. At first she thought he was lying, but he seemed so honest. In class Naruto was always such a bad liar. Naruto himself wasn't sure how he understood it, but the abyss he calls a head did. It was the same sort of thing that drew his attention to Himaru back when he first entered Naruto's classroom. Something just made it so easy to pay attention and understand him.

"Excellent. Now, why aren't you practicing?" All three genin walked to a different trash heap. As the trio shouted out the technique, Himaru could already guess what the results would be. Sakura performed a perfect if not much smaller version of the technique, not having nearly enough chakra. Sasuke performed it adequately, but Naruto was the real showstopper. Instead of a wall of fire, there was a huge explosion, scattering burning pieces of trash everywhere. As the smoke cleared, they could see Naruto, and he was completely black with soot. He coughed once, a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth, before falling on his side with a 'thud'. Himaru ran a hand across his hitai-ate and though his long bangs. He'd expected this.

"Well, that was definitely powerful, Naruto. Not exactly the technique we were looking for, but powerful nonetheless." Sakura looked worriedly at Naruto as he scrambled back onto his feet. He may be an idiot, but he still needed medical attention.

"Um, Himaru-sensei? I think we should take Naruto to the hospital." Himaru smirked at Sakura before walking closer to Naruto. He inhaled deeply and exhaled with a little chakra added, blowing nearly all the soot off of Naruto. There wasn't a burn or scratch on him, even where his jumpsuit was damaged. Both Sakura and Sasuke looked taken a back, and then blinked a couple times.

"He's fine," Himaru said. "Now we need to talk about special training. I figure we've gotten rid of enough trash for the mission." Himaru once again performed his Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu. This time, they reappeared in a forest.

"Sensei, shouldn't we report the mission to the Hokage?" Sakura asked, almost pleading. She needed to rest for a bit after that jutsu. Himaru reached into one of the many pockets in his pants, and without a word popped a pill down Sakura's mouth with a flick of his fingers.

"Swallow that, and the longer the Hokage thinks we're busy, the more time we'll have for more important things." Everyone sweat dropped. Naruto was the first to regain speaking ability.

"So what's this 'special training', huh Sensei?" Himaru smiled, his eyes closing and curving into rainbows.

"We'll climb trees!" Everyone sweat dropped again.

"What?" Naruto asked, his face scrunched into a look of confusion.

"You're all going to climb the tree using only you're feet. Watch." Himaru calmly and slowly walked straight up one of the trees before bouncing off. "All you do is channel chakra to your feet, the hardest place, and use it to stick to the tree. This will improve your chakra control greatly. You might want to start off running. Oh, and mark how high you can get with a kunai." All three genin nodded and charged individual trees. Sasuke made it up a bout five feet before he dented the tree and was forced to go back down. Naruto fell almost immediately, leaving a hole in the tree. Sakura, on the other hand, managed to make it to one of the higher branches.

"Hey, this is easy!" Himaru clapped and Naruto cheered.

"Goo job, Sakura-chan!" Completely ignoring Naruto, Sakura watched Sasuke, who only appeared annoyed. Himaru coughed to grab their attention.

"I didn't say you could stop." Sasuke and Naruto immediately started trying again, but Sakura appeared confused.

"But Sensei, I've already mastered this."

"So? You're chakra control is indeed excellent for a genin, but you have very little chakra. Training will increase your reserves. Now go!" Sakura nodded slowly and began going farther up the tree, right to the top, and then heading back down. Himaru smirked as he watched his students run up, or try to at least, the trees.

'I think I'll leave them alone.' None of them noticed their sensei's departure, they were to intent on training. Each time Sasuke tried, he got up about a foot farther, until his her reached around fifteen feet. He couldn't seem to pass that mark. Sasuke gave his best avenger-glare to the tree as the fell once again. Naruto, on the other hand, managed only about five feet, tops. Naruto was kicking the tree in frustration when he once again noticed how Sakura just kept going up and down the tree, almost never losing her grip. Making sure Sasuke wasn't looking at him, Naruto walked very quietly towards Sakura, who had just stopped to take a break.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?" Sakura sighed as Naruto approached her.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Naruto ignored her annoyed tone completely.

"You're really good at this, do you think you could help me?" Sakura blinked her emerald eyes once, and then stared at Naruto for a moment in surprise.

"Uh, okay. It's simple, really. Just concentrate on the climbing the tree and nothing else, don't let yourself get frustrated." Naruto seemed to mull her advice over before giving her one of his infamous foxy grins.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan." Naruto quickly strode back to his tree, and took a deep breath. He dashed up the bark and made it nearly fifteen feet before he fell back down. Sasuke, who had just happened to turn his head at that exact moment, saw that.

'The dobe's catching up to me?' he thought, and then gritted his teeth. 'No.' With a small growl Sasuke charged back up the tree, and only made it about five feet that time. Sasuke clenched his hand into a fist, nearly drawing blood. He needed help. 'Sakura?' Sasuke felt himself involuntarily shiver. 'No. Naruto then. Damn.' Sasuke sighed and slowly, almost painfully walked to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto. Naruto stopped in mid-run towards the hated plant."

"Eh, what do you want, Sasuke?" Sasuke swallowed.

"What did Sakura tell you?" At first, Naruto felt embarrassed the teme had caught him, but then he realized with the Uchiha was asking. Naruto grinned mischievously at him.

"I'm not telling." Sasuke's eye twitched.

"What?" he accidentally shouted. Almost instantly, Sakura was there, fuming over Naruto.

"Na-ru-to," Naruto gulped, "what did you do to Sasuke-kun?"

"He, er, wanted to know what the advice you gave me was!" At first Sakura was going to hit Naruto and call him a liar, but then she saw the slightest of blushes on Sasuke's cheeks. Suddenly, Sakura felt like she was floating. Sasuke needed _her_. Sakura pushed Naruto out of the way and immediately got even closer to Sasuke, who had to resist backing up.

"Really, Sasuke-kun? Do you really need _my _help? I mean, you're the greatest and all, but…" As Sakura went on for another couple minutes, Naruto went to a different tree. He had a scowl on his face. How come the Sasuke had her affections? He was such a glacier! Naruto tried running up the new tree, but fell almost immediately. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, and tried to shake off his resentment before trying again. Still only fifteen feet.



"Alright, team, time to head home!" Himaru reappeared with a shout a couple hours later.

"I'm staying," Sasuke said simply.

"Me too," Naruto said. Sakura really wanted to stay with Sasuke, and her face showed it, but her parents would kill her if she missed dinner, and she really wanted to take a shower and a nap.

"I've got to go," she finally said, a little resigned.

"I'll walk you home, Sakura," Himaru suggested. Sakura thanked him before heading off, with him close behind. Naruto moved back to his original tree and started up again, the same time as Sasuke. Naruto finally made it to a branch a little more than twenty feet off the ground, and Sasuke managed to climb to a slightly higher branch.

"Why are you still here? Won't your parents get worried?" Naruto asked him. Sasuke clenched his fists together.

"You don't know anything, do you, dobe?"

"What'd you call me, Sasuke-teme?"

"They're all dead." Another insult died in Naruto's mouth. "As much as I hate to admit, we're similar, you and I."

"That's the guy you want to kill? The man who slaughtered your family?" Naruto asked carefully, his arms now limp at his sides, and his face turned away from Sasuke.

"My own brother. I swore I'd do whatever it takes to attain the power to kill him." To Sasuke's surprise and utter rage, Naruto started chuckling, but Sasuke's words died in his mouth when Naruto started laughing. It wasn't his usual hee-haw laugh from when he pulled pranks, this was darker, and somehow truer sounding. Naruto's vaguely insane laughter permeated the entire forest, scaring small animals.

"No, Sasuke, we're not that similar. You waste your life and throw away all the happiness you could have just to fulfill some useless act. My life was stolen from me the day I was born, but I ignore that, I fight to take my life back, and one day, it'll be mine again." Naruto looked at Sasuke than. Really looked at him. And his usually bright blue eyes were dark and piercing, his grin was replaced with a sad smile. "Not similar at all."

**I know Naruto seemed really OOC there, but hear me out. Naruto does manage to occasionally say something wise in the manga, and I think he definitely does wear a mask, though not to the same extent as some think he does. Anyway, please read and review, flamers will be flamed (literally) and eaten. Constructive criticism is welcome. Oh, and if anyone has a guide as to what the hand seals actually individually do, could you please send it to me? Bye!**


	4. Individuality

**Sorry for the delay. I need more reviews! Please? They sustaaaaiiin me! Onward!**

Himaru chuckled. Both Sasuke and Naruto had passed out on the ground last night. "How should we wake them up, Sakura?" Sakura looked up at her brunette sensei.

"What do you mean?" Himaru sighed and shook his head.

"Are you sure you were in Naruto's class?" Without another word, Himaru reached into one of his many pants pockets and pulled out a simple scroll. "This should do." He unrolled the scroll above the unconscious pair and bit his finger, drawing blood. He ran his finger across the fluttering paper, and a flash flood of icy cold water spilled out, soaking the boys to the bone.

"COLD!" Naruto leapt several feet into the air and landed hard on his almost numb butt. Sasuke just shivered, but he was shivering fast enough that he was a nearly a blur. Himaru laughed loudly, his dark blue eyes closed in little rainbows. When his laughter died down he absentmindedly brushed his spiky bangs out of his eyes, even though they fell right back down.

"I'm proud of you. You both stayed here all night. You're either very determined, or very stupid." Both Sasuke and Naruto growled at him. Then their stomach growled. Himaru started laughing again as both boys blushed, though you could hardly tell on Sasuke.

"I foresaw this." Himaru reached into yet another pocked and pulled out another scroll. Naruto was several yards away by this point. "Relax, I'm not going to douse you again…yet." Himaru laid the scroll down like a picnic cloth and then applied his blood. Several bowls of piping hot ramen came out of it. Naruto was immediately back and already sitting down. Himaru smiled as he started slurping down the noodles, and then turned to Sakura. "You eat too. And stop skipping breakfast. A ninja can't afford to diet." Sakura's jaw dropped.

"But…How did you-"

"You're a boy crazy, self-conscious girl Sakura, it wasn't hard to guess. Plus I used a little bird to spy on you." Sakura was gaping like a fish. Himaru ignored her and sat down to eat before Naruto ate everything. Sakura eventually started eating as well, right after Sasuke. Naruto just finished his third bowl.

"Guess what, Sensei? We made it almost to the top!" Himaru patted Naruto on the head, much to the blond's chagrin.

"Good. I'm sure you'll make it to the top today. Then, I'll teach you all some more jutsu." Naruto was about to leap into the air in joy, but Himaru pushed him back down.

"Naruto, you really do need to be a little quieter. Shinobi must be stealthy, and a Kage is the best ninja in the village in _all_ aspects, not just power." Naruto seemed to mull it over, and for some reason he actually obeyed Himaru and grinned like an idiot instead. "Much better." Both Sasuke and Sakura sweat dropped. While Naruto happily slurped down his fourth bowl, however, Sasuke was glaring at him on the inside.

'I can't believe what the dobe said last night. He practically called me a fool, and now he's just grinning and being an idiot! As if he knows what I should do with my life. I am an Avenger, and I must kill _him_ at all costs. Naruto can't understand, he doesn't have anyone to take revenge on!' Himaru clapped once all the ramen was gone in order to take their attention back to him.

"Time to go back to tree climbing! You too, Sakura. We still need to build those reserves of yours." All three genin got up and immediately headed to their own trees. Himaru watched as they charged up, Sakura making it all the way to the top, and Sasuke and Naruto were close behind.



Climb, fall, climb, fall… Himaru was starting to nod off as he watched them continue to try to get to the top. Sakura was resting on the ground, gasping for air. "Okay, enough tree climbing for now!" he shouted at them "The Hokage gave us another mission to rescue the daimyo's wife's cat." There was a pause.

"AGAIN?" Naruto practically tore the tree in two with his sudden burst of rage. "WE JUST DID THAT YESTERDAY!"

"QUIET!" Naruto was immediately silent, shocking both Sasuke and Sakura. No yell had ever gotten him to shut up before. Naruto, on the other hand, had no idea why he suddenly stopped yelling, or why he no longer felt like it. Himaru coughed, to get Sakura and Sasuke's attention.

"Ahem. As I was saying, we have to rescue the damned cat again, but, I'm going to teach you a new jutsu to make all the day's missions better." Now everyone's attention was stuck to him like a magnet. "Watch closely." He began to slowly perform hand seals: ox-snake-horse-hare-rat. In a blur of emotion, he was almost instantly several dozen yards away. "This jutsu is simple, using the seals and then pumping chakra into your legs, or any other limb, you move incredibly quickly. It's called Haipa-Sumiyaka no Jutsu (Hyper Speed Technique)." Himaru brushed his bangs out of his eyes again before gesturing for them to try.

"Haipa-Sumiyaka no Jutsu!" they all cried out, and began moving around as lightning fast blurs. Only a few moments later, Sakura collapsed. Naruto skidded to a halt, accidentally passing her by several feet. Sasuke also skidded to a stop, and Himaru was already by her side.

"I'm sorry. I forgot how draining this jutsu is. Here." Himaru handed her the same kind of pill as yesterday, and Sakura slowly got back to her feet.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Sakura nodded at Naruto and then looked to Sasuke hopefully, but his attention was on Himaru.

"Himaru-sensei, where's the cat?" Naruto was all over Sasuke.

"What do you mean, 'where's the cat?'? Sakura-chan nearly passed out!" The two glared at each other for awhile, but Himaru pushed them apart.

"Sakura will be fine, Naruto." Then he turned to Sasuke. "It is always important to think of the mission, but it is far more important to think of your comrades. Remember that, and you'll get all the power you'll ever need." Sasuke glared at Himaru when he turned his back to him.

'Tch, comrades, right. What a waste of time and space.'

"The cat is actually somewhere in this very forest Spread out!" All three genin followed his command and were off, hopping thought the trees, desperately trying to find the dammed orange cat. Once they left, Himaru sighed. "Why oh why do they have to hate each other? Then again, someone can't truly be your friend until they've been your enemy."



There was a trio of blurs zipping across the Konoha playground, and almost no litter was left on the premises. Every now and again, you would see on of the blurs, Sakura, stop to take a breather, and then start the jutsu again. Himaru, meanwhile, was sitting on a bench, doing absolutely nothing. "Okay, Team 7, that's it for this mission." The blurs stopped, revealing three, very tired genin with litter sticks and full garbage bags.

"Can we do training now?" Naruto whined as he tossed his bag into the playground trash can.

"Of course." Sakura nearly collapsed again. "But first, I need to take Sakura home. Those pills may give her more energy, but they're a pretty big strain on the body." Himaru walked over to Sakura and disappeared in a cloud of smoke with her in tow, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone, at least temporarily.

"I hope Sakura-chan's alright," Naruto said, a little worried.

"She needs to get stronger." Naruto's eye twitched.

"What right do you have to insult her, Sasuke-teme?" Sasuke didn't even look at Naruto.

"She's weak. She wastes her time on all those girl things. She should focus on being a strong kunoichi." Naruto had to resist punching Sasuke

"Sakura-chan's not weak! She's got really good chakra control and hits really hard!" Sasuke smirked at him.

"Maybe for you, dobe." Both genin glared at each other, and then Himaru reappeared with a puff.

"Glad to see you two are getting along," he said, completely and utterly sarcastic.

"We are not!" Naruto huffed at him." Sasuke and Himaru both sweat dropped.

"I was being- oh never mind. I'm letting you guys take a break from tree climbing. We're going to move on to good old fashioned working out. Push-ups till you drop, then laps around Konoha." Both genin fell to the ground, landing on their hands and began the exercise. It became a race of who could do the most push-ups the fastest. It was roughly a tie, and then they sprang up onto their feet and began racing around the village. Naruto was behind Sasuke for the first lap, then he got closer and closer as the laps went on, but on the final and fifth lap, Sasuke still won.

"Good," Himaru commended them. "Now go get dinner. Meet me at the bridge tomorrow."



Himaru was already there by the time the members of Team 7 arrived at the bridge. "Good morning, Sakura-chan! Good morning, Himaru-sensei!" Naruto waved at them wildly, but Sakura was already fawning, or attempting to, over Sasuke. Naruto mumbled something about arrogant bastards as he arrived. Himaru brushed his bangs out of his eyes again before speaking.

"Just to let you know, this is our new official meeting place. I like the view."

"What missions do we have today?" Sasuke asked, desperate to get away from Sakura. Naruto had his hands together in prayer.

'Not the cat, not the cat, not the cat…'

"We have to rescue-"

"DAMMIT!"

"a dog from the sewer system," Himaru finished, sweat dropping.

"The sewer?" Sakura almost screeched.

"Yep." Everyone groaned except Sasuke because he did it on the inside. "But afterwards, I'll teach you each a specific new jutsu!" Naruto almost jumped into the air with joy. "Follow me to the man hole!" Himaru began walking off the bridge, back into a Konoha street. The genin followed him, Sakura treading behind in dread. When they found a man hold, Himaru bent down and dragged the lid off by the holes. "Ladies first," he said with a smirk, and Sakura gulped before climbing down the slimy ladder. She had to suppress an 'ew' several times, couldn't let Sasuke think she was a wimp. Naruto was probably the only one who was excited by the time they were all in the stinky corridors of the town's plumbing.

"This place is huge." Naruto's voice echoed through the partially green and brown halls. "And the floor is squishy!" Sakura turned a shade to match the décor as Naruto poked the watery floor in several spots.

"Come one," Himaru said as he started walking again. "We're looking for a small wiener dog. We should probably split up."

"Sp-split up?" Sakura squeaked.

"Yes. Like Naruto said, this place is big."

"And squishy."

"How about we pretend that's not true?" Himaru suggested dryly as he walked off in another direction. Then Sasuke, then Naruto, and finally Sakura headed off in different directions.

"Here, doggy!" Naruto's voice echoed through the sewer, as did Himaru's. Only Sakura and Sasuke were quiet, and on opposite ends of the sewer. Sasuke made sure of that. Sakura was thanking the kami that there were little sidewalks in the sewer, so she didn't have to step in the sewer water.

"NOT A WIENER DOG!" Naruto suddenly cried out from somewhere, and then there was a flash of light, as if from a fire.

"What's that idiot gotten himself into this time?" Sakura thought out loud, trying to concentrate on not being afraid. Her head snapped around when she heard a sudden noise, and she started walking a little fast. She heard it again. She started running, she couldn't tell where it was coming fro- "Aghhh!" she tripped on something, and the noise sounded like it was right not top of her. Just when she was about to scream, her mind recognized noise, and she sweat dropped.



Himaru observed his students with an amused eye. They were all back on the bridge, and covered in grim, especially Sakura, who looked like she's fallen in it. But Sakura was also the one holding a very scared and very dirty little brown wiener dog. Then there was Naruto. His clothes were torn and heavily singed. He was mumbling something about an army of giant rats. "I suppose that mission was a success. Sakura managed to find the target and pull him out of the drainage pipe. Good job. Now hold still." His hands moved in a blur, and the river underneath the bridge rose up, grabbed them, spun them around and dropped them surprisingly clean. At this point the poor little dog was utterly terrified, and Sakura could barely hold onto it without crushing it. Himaru, who was also soaked from the technique, took the dog.

"I'll take him to the client. You guys just dry off until I get back." He disappeared with a poof, leaving the trio alone and very, very soggy. Naruto suddenly burst out laughing, and pointed as Sasuke.

"You look ridiculous! You're hair's all clinging to your head and stuff!" Sasuke growled at the blond, and readied on of his favorite jutsu.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Suffice to say, they were all very dry when Himaru returned just moments later.

"Well, that was fast." Strangely enough, their sensei was also dry.

"Jutsu!" Simple, and to the point, courtesy of Naruto. Himaru smirked and brushed his bangs out his eyes again.

"Well, I did tell you I would. Okay, Sakura, you're first. Watch." Himaru's hands glowed green as he performed the seals, dog-dragon-ox. "This a medical jutsu that takes incredible chakra control, perfect for you, Sakura. This is the Kizu Nitto no Jutsu (Wound Knit Technique). You focus a special chakra into your hands using the seals. You need to find the part of you chakra that feels almost motherly." Sakura performed the seals and focused, her eyes scrunched in concentration.

"Kizu Nitto no Jutsu!" Her hand glowed a faint green, more a tint that a glow, really.

"An excellent first try, Sakura. Let's test it out." Himaru pulled out a kunai and made a small cut across the back of his hand. "Now run your hand along and slightly above the cut, transferring you chakra as you go." Sakura nodded dumbly at her sensei, a little surprised that he'd cut himself just to test a jutsu. She extended her hand and rested them above his hand, running them across the cut. Her eyes widened as the cut disappeared, like her hands were erasers. When she was done, Himaru took his hand back and examined it. "Good. Every time you see a cut, practice that jutsu on it, okay?" Sakura nodded her head, a huge smile on her face for succeeding. She looked at Sasuke for recognition, and he didn't blatantly ignore her! He didn't do anything to acknowledge her, but he didn't glare or shift his gaze. Nothing could ruin this day for her!

'Not even going through the sewers again!' she squealed in her mind, and Inner Sakura was shouting about winning Sasuke over and saying 'Cha!' a lot.

"You're turn, Sasuke."

"Go, Sasuke-kun!" Naruto, on the other hand, seemed disgruntled.

"How come he's going before me?

"Because I want them a ways away when I teach you your jutsu." Now Naruto was grinning from ear to ear, and Sasuke was scowling slightly. "Anyway, back to you, Sasuke." Himaru brushed his bangs out of his eyes again. "Watch." Snake-dragon-tiger-snake. Himaru's right hand was engulfed in flame up to his elbow. Sasuke smirked; he already liked this jutsu. With a wave of his hand, Himaru dispersed the fire. "You can probably guess how the Kasai Kougake no Jutsu (Fire Gauntlet Technique) works, right Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded, still smirking, especially at Naruto's gaping mouth.

"It's your turn, Naruto." Naruto almost jumped into the air again, instead settling for grinning like a madman and fidgeting a lot. Himaru took a deep breath, and brushed his bangs out of his eyes before continuing. "Sakura, Sasuke, back up. Back up really far." Sakura obeyed, but Sasuke seemed reluctant, though he backed up nonetheless. Once they were several yards away, Himaru began with the seals. Ox-monkey-boar-rat. Himaru inhaled deeply, and spat out a small, glowing sphere several feet away from them. At first it looked unimpressive, but once it landed, it blew up. The explosion rocked the ground and was incredibly bright, almost blinding. Once the smoke and light faded, both Sakura and Naruto's jaws dropped, and even Sasuke was gaping at it. A giant crater, nearly twenty feet in diameter. Once he retracted his jaw, Naruto looked like he was about to cry in happiness. Naruto was about to put his hands together, but Himaru stopped him.

"No. While performing the seals, you need to gather up a huge amount of chakra, and pass it through your throat and blow, like you would a spitball." Naruto grinned again. He already had this jutsu nailed. "Normally, a genin wouldn't be able to perform this jutsu at all, because of the massive chakra cost. One reason it's perfect for you." Naruto puffed up in triumph. "The other reason is because it also requires a highly erratic chakra source for the full effect." Now Naruto wasn't sure whether he should be insulted or not. "Go ahead, try it. It's called the Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu (Blasting Powder Spit Technique)." Naruto was so excited, he didn't even notice Himaru backing up to join Sasuke and Sakura.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" Naruto spat out another ball of energy, and it landed several yards away, courtesy of a lot and lots of spitballs in the academy. When it blew up, however, the explosion sent was so strong it sent chunks of rock every where, including at Naruto and the rest of Team 7. Once it was over, Sakura had a bump on her head and fully intended to kill her bumbling teammate. She stalked over to him, only to see him collapse from a rock to the head he received only moments prior. She couldn't quite bring herself to hurt his twitching form, but she couldn't quite bring herself to heal him, either. Himaru chuckled and shook his head.

"I better go take him home." He walked over the unconscious blond and hoisted him over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. Sasuke, meantime, was absolutely seething.

'How could the dobe have so much power?' He glared at Naruto's crater; it was even bigger than Himaru's. 'I can't let the dobe surpass me!' Sasuke ran off to train somewhere, leaving Sakura to stare at Naruto's crater.

'Is Naruto really that strong?'

**Just to let you know, the Kasai Kougake no Jutsu is not like a fire version of the Chidori. While the Chidori pierces, the Kasai Kougake pretty much just adds fire to an ordinary punch. Please read and REVIEW! Flamers will be frozen, smashed by water, zapped, burnt and finally eaten by my dragons. Constructive criticism is always welcome. The Wave story arc is up next! Bye!**


	5. The Wave Arc Starts Now

**The Wave arc starts now! **

"Let's see…" Sarutobi looked over the various D-class missions while Team 7 waited not so patiently in front of him. "Ah yes. Baby-sitting for the-"

"NO WAY!" Naruto shouted, startling everyone. "I've had enough of these lame-o missions! Give us something good!"

'He's got a point,' Sasuke thought.

"What an idiot,' Sakura thought. Himaru shook his head and chuckled. The Third proceeded with his explanation of the mission system until he noticed Naruto wasn't even looking at him, instead he was talking about ramen to his team.

"Are you even paying attention?" Naruto whirled on him.

"I don't care! I want a good mission! I'm not the same little trouble-making brat everyone thinks I am! How are we going to get better if all we do are these boring chores!" Naruto whirled around again and huffed. Sarutobi half-sighed and half-chuckled.

"Do you think they're ready, Himaru?" All the genin on Team 7 looked up at their sensei. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes before speaking.

"They're more than ready, Hokage-sama. I think it'd be good for them to get some experience."

"Very well then, we do have an escort mission available. Naruto grinned widely and was about to start shouting again, but this time Himaru silenced him with a hand over his mouth.

"Like I've said before Naruto, you do need to learn to be quiet to be a ninja." Sarutobi barely managed to conceal his shock when Naruto didn't explode or pout or anything, he just nodded.

"Please, come forward, Tazuna-san." The sick smell of a drunk drifted into the room, followed by a scruffy old man.

"These little brats are supposed to be my body guards? You sure they're capable? The midget looks like an imbecile." There was a pause as Naruto looked around for who he was talking about, and then his teammates walked up to stand next to him.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto charged, but Himaru caught him by his collar with one hand.

"Stop." Naruto slowly settled back down, but Himaru didn't move his hand. "Relax, Tazuna-san. If anything goes wrong, I'm a jounin. Besides, it's only a C-ranked mission." Tazuna's eye twitched, and Himaru noticed it, but said nothing.

"You'll leave tomorrow morning to take Tazuna-san back to his home country of Wave."

"Hai!" All four ninja answered before he led his team off. Almost as soon as they were out of the building, Naruto started grumbling.

"We finally get a good mission and it's to protect some dirty old man!"

"Don't complain Naruto. This mission may yet prove to be exciting. But first," Himaru turned and looked his team up and down. "We need to do something about your guys' attire. You're all walking targets. Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu!" They reappeared in a strange building.

"Himaru-sensei? Where are we?" Sakura asked, starting to feel nervous in the dark room.

"My basement." Himaru reached into one of the many closets in the room. He tossed a folded black out fit at each of them. "I want to see you all wearing those tomorrow. Oh, and Sakura, I'm going to have to cut your hair."

"What?" Sakura clutched her hair protectively. "But why?" Himaru brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"It's too long. I'll be a hassle on mission. Don't worry, I won't shave you, just make it shorter." Himaru reached back into the wooden closet and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"But if my hair is short-" Sakura stopped, and glanced at Sasuke, who was looking back at her. His face was set in a frown. Himaru was already behind her, and whispered something in her ear.

"Good hair isn't going to impress someone like Sasuke. Only power and skill will impress him." Sakura nodded slightly and reluctantly let go of her hair.



Tazuna raised his eyebrow. These kids sure looked different. They all wore matching outfits. Black pants with several pockets, black sandals and long sleeved black shirts with little pools of cloth around their necks that looked like they could be pulled up as masks and cover their hair. The even all wore the same black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back. They looked like little mini-mes of theirs sensei was it not for his jounin vest and lack of a pulled down mask. The girl's hair was also much shorter. "You ninja's or a sports team?" Tazuna asked of their matching uniforms. Naruto growled at him, but both Sasuke and Sakura ignored the bridge builder.

"Enough glaring at the client, let's go," Himaru said, his voice cheery as he walked out of the village gates. Just a few steps out of Konoha, Naruto thrust both fists in the air.

"This is so cool! I've never been outside of the village before!"

"Idiot," Tazuna mumbled under his breath, but Naruto still heard him.

"What did you say!" Himaru had to hold Naruto by his mask this time until he settled down. "Just wait! One day you and everyone else will respect me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

"Heh. Respect you? Not even if you became Hokage." Naruto shook his fist at the old man, barely containing his rage. Eventually, Himaru got everyone walking again, and after awhile, Sakura tugged nervously on his arm.

"Um, Himaru-sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Does Wave have a shinobi village too?" Himaru shook his head.

"No. A country as small and as protected by the sea doesn't need much of a military force. Don't worry Sakura, we won't be facing any ninja on this mission." Himaru patted Sakura on the head, but Tazuna gulped, another thing only Himaru noticed. Their trip continued until they passed a puddle in the middle of the dry land. Himaru actually sighed as the two shinobi came out of the puddle and attempted to wrap their chains around him. He easily caught both their chains and Himaru swung them into each other, hard. They detached from their chain weapons and one of them went after the genin while the other tried to hold of Himaru.

Naruto was frozen in fear as the enemy ninja closed in on him and extended his metal gauntlet. Just as the claw touched the metal back of Naruto's glove, Sasuke came charging in and kicked the ninja, right into the arms of Himaru, who now had both of the missing nin in a head lock. Sasuke looked right into Naruto's eyes as Himaru tied up the two shinobi. "Are you okay, you big chicken?" Naruto snapped out of his stupor and glowered at the Uchiha genius, who wasn't even looking at him anymore. Himaru came up to the still shocked Tazuna.

"Why are their shinobi after you?"

"Wh-what are you-" Himaru's midnight eyes cut him off.

"Every time the difficulty of this mission is mentioned, you look nervous. You knew this was going to happen. Tell us the full story." Tazuna sighed and explained about the bridge and Gatoh, then he tried to guilt them into continuing the mission, and Himaru laughed.

"I fully intend on completing this mission anyway, Tazuna-san, so long as my team is fine with it.

"Himaru-sensei! We're not ready for-"

"I say we continue," Sasuke interrupted Sakura, and she promptly shut up. Himaru shifted his gaze to Naruto.

"Well?" Naruto nodded vigorously, set on not letting Sasuke show him up again. Himaru smiled broadly at his team. "Then what are we waiting for? Wave awaits!" He began walking again, his team right behind him. Tazuna sighed in relief as he got back in the between them.



Sakura was currently scolding Naruto for hitting a bunny with one of his shuriken. Himaru, meanwhile, was looking at the snow-white bunny, and waiting. "Duck!" he shouted, pulling everyone down with him right before a giant sword flew over them and buried itself in a tree.

"Hand over the old man." A large man stood on tope of the sword, with bandages over his mouth and a Mist hitai-ate on his forehead but hanging off to the side. Himaru stepped in front of his team.

"This one's mine. Protect Tazuna!" The genin got in formation around the bridge builder while Zabuza looked apathetically at the jounin in front of him.

"Get out of my way. I've never even heard of you. Do you think you can beat the Demon of the Mist?"

"Momochi Zabuza. You shall die." Zabuza actually felt the air chill as Himaru spoke. Something was off about his one.

"Very well." Zabuza and his sword disappeared from the tree, and then reappeared over the lake. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" The area became enshrouded in mist so thick you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Suddenly, Zabuza's voice came from all around them, listing all their vital spots that he could target. The genin and Tazuna were shaking, and Sasuke starting moving his kunai, the killing intent was too much…

"Sasuke!" Himaru's voice snapped Sasuke out of it. "Don't worry, I won't let any of you die." Himaru turned his head and smiled reassuringly at them.

"Don't bet on it!" Zabuza appeared in the middle of the genin and Tazuna, his sword beginning it's swing. The 'Zabuza' collapsed into a puddle of water as Himaru smashed his fist through it. Zabuza appeared behind Himaru this time, his massive sword at Himaru's head. Zabuza smirked triumphantly underneath the bandages, but then Himaru started chuckling.

"Are you truly so foolish?" Zabuza's head separated from his body, but both parts turned back into water. A second Himaru was behind were the Mizu Bunshin had been. Himaru dispelled the Kage Bunshin with a flick of his hand. "Enough hiding in the mist." Himaru whirled through a blur of hand seals. "Fuuton: Fuuton no Jutsu (Air Release: Air Release Technique)!" A great burst of wind blew the mist away, revealing Zabuza still standing on the lake. Zabuza scowled underneath his wrappings. Himaru disappeared, and reappeared behind Zabuza on the lake surface. The pair commenced into taijutsu, Himaru giving Zabuza no time or space to draw his sword. Without his sword, Zabuza was losing, taking blow after blow, but unable to land a hit of his own.

'Who is this guy?' Zabuza willingly took a punch to the gut so he could draw his sword, and slashed Himaru. He blocked with the metal on his gloves, but he was still slammed under the water. Zabuza acted quickly and caught Himaru in his water prison. Himaru banged on the inside.

"Run!" he shouted at the genin. Sasuke's mouth was crooked in a frown.

"We'll never be able to get away in time, Himaru-sensei." All the genin looked at Tazuna who sighed and smiled sadly at them.

"Feel free to fight. I've lived a long life and all of this is my fault anyway." Sasuke nodded at him and the trio got into fighting stances. Zabuza laughed.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" A copy of Zabuza formed right in front of their eyes, giant sword and all. The copy moved fast striking Sasuke and Naruto both down with the same strike, but knocking Naruto's hitai-ate off as well. From back on the water, Zabuza sent killing intent at the genin. "How dare you pathetic children play at being ninja! When I was your age, these hands were already soaked in the blood of my enemies!" Naruto started crawling backwards, scared, but he felt the glove on his hand. He looked from his new clothes to his hitai-ate on the ground. The hitai-ate the clone was currently stomping on. He gritted his teeth. These clothes, that hitai-ate, they were the symbols of what he was. A ninja! Naruto stood up and faced the clone, and then he started rushing through seals.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" The clone struck at the pathetic little ball of chakra, and then it exploded, taking the clone with it. After a moment of shocked silence, Sasuke leapt out of the smoke, a large shuriken in his hand. With a grunt, he threw it at the Zabuza on the lake with all his might. Zabuza smirked as he caught it, but then the second shuriken showed itself. Even after he dodged it, taunting them at the same time, Sasuke still smirked. Zabuza's eyes widened when he heard the pop of a Henge fading.

"Impossible!" Naruto was behind him in mid-air, and threw a kunai at him. It only cut his cheek, but the missing nin still charged Naruto's prone, floating form. He stopped in mid swing when he heard clapping coming from several yards away. His head turned to the side, and watched Himaru who was a top a tree. Zabuza's eyes shot back to where his prison had been, just in time to see the fist collide with his face. Zabuza went skidding across the water, and the Himaru that punched him poofed out of existence, and was immediately replaced by the real Himaru. Zabuza dragged himself back to his feet.

"But how?" he hissed under his breath. "Was I fighting a clone the whole time?"

"Yes," Himaru replied, startling the missing nin. "My team needed a little nudge in the right direction. That was brilliant plan, Naruto." Naruto's insult died in his throat and was replaced by a grin.

"It was easy! All I had to do was-"

"Don't explain your plan to the enemy," Himaru said, sweat dropping. "You can tell me later." Himaru turned back to Zabuza. "Shall we continue?"

**Cliffhanger! The next chapter you get to see what Himaru is really made of! And the training intensifies! Poor, poor genin… Please read and review! PLEASE! I NEED THEM! Constructive criticism is welcome and flamers will be flamed (literally), zapped, frozen in fruit juice and then used as a Popsicle by my dragons.**


	6. More Training

**I am planning on giving them some individuality in their costumes eventually, I'm just waiting for a certain event to happen…**

Zabuza had his giant sword at the ready as he glared at Himaru. 'How? How could I have been fighting a clone that entire time?' Zabuza was forced out of his thoughts when Himaru got into a fighting stance similar to the Jyuuken, but with closed fists. The Demon of the Mist narrowed his eyes at his foe. 'He's no Hyuuga. What's he doing?' Himaru charged forward, and Zabuza barely managed to block the punch with the flat of his blade, but he was still sent skidding back across the water's surface.

"Impossible…" he muttered as he watched cracks spread across his blade with wide eyes. In the blink of an eye, Himaru was once again right next to Zabuza, and with a pair of swift kicks, knocked Zabuza's sword out of his hand, and then knocked Zabuza himself into the air. Himaru seemed to blur out of existence before he appeared behind Zabuza in mid-air. The missing-nin didn't even have time to be shocked before chakra strings from Himaru's fingertips bound him.

"Omote Renge!" Himaru spun Zabuza around like a top before blasting him down into the bottom of the lake. He landed back on the surface of the water while Zabuza lay dazed underneath the water. Himaru blurred through several seals before slamming his hand down on the water. "Aisu Myakuhaku no Jutsu (Ice Pulse Technique)!" A sheet of ice started spreading across the lake, almost freezing Naruto were it not for Himaru's speed. He picked up the surprised blond and tossed all the way back to shore before the ice covered the entire lake, sealing Zabuza underwater. Himaru calmly walked back to shore to the sound of Zabuza's fists trying to break through the ice.

"Hi-Himaru-sensei?" Sakura squeaked as he came closer. "Isn't that kind of c-cruel?" Himaru just shook his head, and a massive dragon made out of water burst through the ice, Zabuza riding it out. Himaru sighed almost amusedly and cracked his knuckles before heading back to the icy lake, and towards the dragon. Zabuza's hands were stuck in a single seal as he ordered the dragon forward. Himaru punched the dragon, splattering its watery form all over the ice.

"Is that all?" Himaru actually yawned, stretching and all. Zabuza gritted his teeth, but he was practically shaking in his boots.

'No way,' he hissed in his mind. 'How could he destroy my jutsu with a single punch?' Himaru once again blurred through some hand seals.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" Himaru rapidly fired the chakra spheres, but Zabuza knew what they were this time, and performed his own hand seals as they came closer.

"Suiton: Daibafaku no Jutsu (Water Release: Grand Waterfall Technique)!" The whole lake surged up; disrupting the explosive spit wads and then hurtled towards Himaru. His eye twitched in annoyance as he braced himself and prepared a counter jutsu.

"Katon: Su-pa-Noba no Jutsu (Flame Release: Super Nova Technique)!" A flame erupted from Himaru's mouth that was so massive erupted that it engulfed the entire lake, evaporating it completely, leaving even the lakebed completely dry. Himaru dispelled the steam with a wind jutsu, revealing that both shinobi were still standing in the empty lake. Zabuza started slowly backing up.

"What are you?" Himaru smirked as slowly approached the Demon of the Mist.

"You're executioner." Before Himaru could act, several senbon imbedded themselves in Zabuza's neck with a soft punt.

"I apologize." A young masked boy jumped down from a tree and landed by Zabuza's body. "But I wanted to kill him myself." The three genin and Tazuna all rushed to Himaru's side, and Naruto was even glaring at the masked ninja.

"What the Hell? He took out Zabuza? He's our age!" Naruto gritted his teeth. "Do we just suck or something?" Himaru patted Naruto on the head, somehow calming the boy down.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're a Hunter-nin of Kirigakure?" The masked boy nodded and hoisted Zabuza onto his shoulder.

"I shall take the body, lest our enemies discover its secrets." With a hand seal, the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke. With the traces of a scowl still on his face, Naruto looked up at his sensei.

"How come you let that guy take Zabuza's body?" Before Himaru could answer, Sakura sighed.

"Don't you know anything?" Sakura went into the lecture on hunter-nins, and when she was done, Naruto just looked pissed.

"But he's only a little older than us!"

"Himaru-sensei." Sasuke's voice took everyone's attention. "Why didn't you check if Zabuza was really dead?"

"Because I already know he isn't." There were gasps from Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna.

"W-what?" the bridge-builder spluttered. "But we saw him die!"

"The weapons the Hunter-nin used, the senbon, are completely capable of putting someone in a sort of 'temporary' death. Plus, why would he lug off Zabuza's whole body, if all he needed was the head to prove the kill?"

"Himaru-sensei, why didn't you stop him?" Sakura asked, her voice frantic and starting to sound high-pitched. Himaru looked at all of his students.

"I don't have the energy to stop him, at the moment. Regardless of whether or not the boy pretended to kill Zabuza, he was still around Hunter-nin level. That last jutsu took up a lot of chakra. Now, let's finish getting to Tazuna's house."



Himaru gathered his students in a circle on the floor of Tazuna's house as Tsunami prepared dinner. "I'm very proud of how you handled the situation, Naruto, Sasuke." Naruto grinned, and Sasuke smirked. "And also Naruto, that kind of quick thinking under stressful situations is key for becoming a kage." Naruto grinned again, this time so wide his head looked like it was going to rip in half. The Himaru turned to Sakura, a comforting expression was on his face as he looked at the ashamed kunoichi.

"Sakura, I understand you're scared, but you must overcome it to be strong. It's totally normal for genin to act like you did. What you have to remember, is that you've got a giant brain in that head of yours. Your capable of becoming a great ninja, you just have to blossom." Sakura's eyes widened slightly at his last word as she recalled her days with Ino. As she thought, Himaru refocused his attention on all of them. "I'm going to increase your training schedule. In fact, by about a day or so before Zabuza is up and at 'em, probably within a week, you'll barely be able to stand." Himaru grinned at them reassuringly, but it had a sadistic tint to it. "Follow me!" Himaru sprung up from his sitting position in a single, fluid motion and headed towards the door. When they followed him to a patch of forest just outside Tazuna's house, a simultaneous groan escaped their lips.

"Not more tree-walking?" Naruto whined but Himaru shut him up with a bop on the head.

"Yes, but I'm also going to teach you each a new jutsu or two." Naruto almost jumped in the air for joy, but Himaru's gaze stopped him again. "First, Naruto, stand right in front of that tree. Trunk to back." Naruto looked confused, but obeyed and stood by the tree. Himaru then turned to face Sakura. "Naruto stole your panties last night." Sakura turned as red as an apple, and Naruto just screamed as the fist came rushing towards his head, but Himaru pulled him out of the way, and Sakura's fist met the tree. All three genin paused in shock when her fist tore right into the middle of the tree trunk, making it wobble. Sakura slowly withdrew her fist and stared at it.

"How did I-"

"You're the first ninja in your family, correct Sakura?" Sakura nodded to her sensei without looking away from her fist. "I've been watching you three interact, and I've noticed that you seem to be able to hit Naruto incredibly hard. This little experiment proves my theory: you have a sort of inborn ability to automatically and effectively enhance your arms with chakra. Normally, any ninja could do the same thing with training, but you chakra seems to be more potent when it's in you body than when it's outside in the form of a jutsu."

"Like a blood line?" Sakura asked slowly and carefully.

"I believe so." Sakura had never felt happier in her whole life: she was special! Then a thought flew back into her mind.

"N-A-R-U-T-O…" Himaru grabbed Sakura's shoulder.

"I was lying, Sakura." Naruto sighed in relief when Sakura's anger subsided.

"I'm alive…" he muttered. Sasuke was watching from the sidelines.

'So she may not be useless after all,' he thought. Himaru's hand slid into one of his many pants pockets and pulled out a scroll. He handed it to Sakura, who gladly accepted it, still riding her previous giddiness.

"That's a scroll on the body with a few excerpts on senbon, it should come in handy. Since you chakra control is already good, read that while the boys practice."

"When did you get a scroll on senbon?" Sakura asked, for they hadn't been in town since the Zabuza incident. Himaru blushed ever so slightly.

"I could be called a pack rat." The genin sweat dropped, but Sakura immediately went to a tree to sit down and read her scroll, now hungry to get better. Her brain only briefly noticed her almost unnatural over-abundness of eagerness before she dug into the scroll, only partly paying attention to even Sasuke. Himaru turned his attention back to his other students.

"Sasuke, since your ultimate goal is revenge, I'm going to teach you a jutsu specifically for killing someone." He now had Sasuke's total cooperation. Himaru slowly put his hands together: dog-snake-tiger. Fiery chakra gathered at the tips of two of Himaru's fingers, and he pointed the two alight digits at the tree Sakura had already maimed. "Nenshou Kousen no Jutsu (Burning Beam Technique)!" The red light at his fingertips turned into a crimson beam, piercing the tree and several behind it, leaving little scorch marks along the holes. Himaru looked at Sasuke, and the genin nodded in comprehension. He wasn't called a genius for nothing.

"My turn!" Naruto exclaimed, hopping up and down.

"Stop that, ninja have to be patient." Naruto frowned, but still did as he was told, something that still amazed his teammates and even himself. Himaru smiled at him "Oh, don't pout. I'll be you a couple bowels of ramen when he get back to Konoha." Naruto grinned madly, and it took all his will power to avoid jumping in the air and shouting like an idiot.

"What are you going to teach me? How to shoot lasers too?" Naruto asked, his excitement almost tangible.

"Taijutsu." Naruto's excitement died down slightly.

"What?"

"According to your academy records, you taijutsu is like a drunken monkey." Naruto scowled when Sasuke smirked. "Don't worry, this taijutsu style is very special." Naruto perked up again. "Its called Akaken (Bloody Fist)." Himaru entered the same stance when he was fighting Zabuza. Himaru punched the tree, only hard enough to crack the bark, but the real sight was what was revealed when the bark fell away. Both Naruto and Sasuke were awestruck as the inside of the tree fell out in a gelatinous glob. Himaru smoothly transitioned back to standing normally. He slowly walked up to Naruto's shocked form and bent down to face him directly.

"Naruto," Himaru began, an unbelievably serious expression ingrained on his face, "before I teach you this, promise me you will treat this style as what it is: a forbidden style, and _only _use it when you _have_ to kill someone. Understand?" Naruto slowly nodded. "Do you promise me you will use this style with extreme care? Do you give me your word?" Naruto's face scrunched with determination.

"You have my word! And Naruto Uzumaki never breaks his promises!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, and Himaru's lips slowly spread his lips in a grin.

"Good." He stood all the way up again. Himaru turned to Sasuke next.

"I want you to practice you Nenshou Kousen. I'm sure you'll find the variations amusing. Oh, and practice your chakra control as well." Himaru smiled sadly at the scowling Uchiha. "Oh don't pout, if you master the Nenshou Kousen, I'll give you a very special gift." Sasuke seemed appeased for the moment, and began practicing. Once the other brunette shinobi started busying himself with training, Himaru once again turned back to a still more or less somber Naruto.

"Now watch and copy." Himaru slipped into the stance, and Naruto followed clumsily behind him. The jounin began to slowly mover through punches and kicks and the genin continued to mimic him. "Mind your feet, Naruto. Don't let them slip to the side. Your fists follow them." Naruto corrected and checked his feet. Soon, it looked like the blond was a mirror.



"Three quarter extension," Himaru reminded his student. Naruto slowly and shakily corrected his arms. He was covered in sweat, and could barely see his hand in front of his face in the moonlight. A red flash suddenly illuminated the sky, and an audible thud was heard. "It sounds like we're all tired," Himaru said, not even having to look at Sasuke's slowly rising form. "I bet it's time for dinner, anyway." Himaru started walking away, and Sasuke and Naruto began a sort of limping race back to the house. Sakura meanwhile just walked normally, still reading the scroll in the moonlight. As they neared the house, Tsunami approached them.

"I hope you all worked up an appetite!" Boy, was _that _an understatement. Sasuke and Naruto both bolted into the house, despite their previous exhaustion. They had already started gorging themselves by the time Himaru and Sakura entered the house. Tazuna, Himaru were highly amused by the eating contest going on, but Sakura was mostly just disgusted. Finally, she interjected when the two rivals threw up simultaneously on the floor.

"What's the point of gorging yourselves if you're just going to puke it back up?" Both Sasuke and Naruto looked up at her, both slightly green.

"Because I have to beat him," they both replied. Sakura sighed

'Boys…' '**What idiots**!' Inner Sakura finished.

"Sakura's right," Himaru added. "Don't eat so much that you make yourself sick. That won't help you train tomorrow."

"Why even bother?" All faces turned to a small, very depressing looking boy. "Why don't you just give up? Gatou's just gonna kill you."

"Inari!" the boy's mother chastised.

"What a wuss." Inari's face turned hard and he glared at Naruto.

"What do you know? You have no idea what it's like! Living in this mud hole and being treated like dirt!" Naruto's fist hit the table with enough force to crack it, and he released small, unintentional amounts of killing intent on the poor boy.

"I'd rather die brave than live as a worthless, cowardly little crybaby like you!" Inari's face scrunched up, and tears began pouring down his face as he ran upstairs to his room. His mother called after him, but to no avail.

"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded the blond. "That's going to far, he's just a-" Sakura froze at the look Naruto gave her. 'Did-did his eyes just flash red?' Naruto pushed back in his chair and away from the table. Himaru just ever so slightly smirked at the whole thing.

'Not how I would have liked for the procedure to start, but this should still work.' After a brief, tension-filled pause, Sakura asked about the missing portion of the group photo in an attempt to change the subject. We all know how that goes. After the depressing story, the group slowly drifts apart for bed.

"We're waking up early in the morning people," Himaru said, although he knew that wouldn't stop some people. CoughNarutocoughSasukecough. Sure enough, he saw the genin separately sneak out of the house back towards the trees just a few minutes after they departed from dinner. He sighed half-heatedly before going to the back of the house, where he heard a certain little boy crying.



"Takes more muscle to frown than to smile." Inari jumped at the new voice.

"Wh-what do you want?" he said as he tried to desperately hold back his tears. In one smooth motion, Himaru sat down next to Inari.

"I wanted to apologize for Naruto, but you have to understand, he's told himself the exact same thing throughout his life." Inari looked at the man and blinked, confused. Himaru smiled sadly, not even looking at the Wave boy anymore. "Naruto never knew either of his parents and no one was ever there to help him. One day he just decided to stop crying, and do something about his problem." Himaru stood up and patted a slightly stunned Inari on the head. "Well, 'night kid."

**I'm REALLY sorry this has taken so long! I've been really busy, and when I wasn't busy, my computer would act all funky. Please read and review. Especially review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry this took so long…again. I'll be updating more often for a little while because I just finished my real life book! Yay me!**

""Wake-up." Naruto's eyes blinked open. There was a person in a pink kimono standing over him.

"Eh?" 'Must've fallen asleep training,' Naruto's groggy mind thought.

"What are you doing, taking a nap in a place like this?" the 'girl' asked as Naruto sat up and yawned. He grinned his infamous foxy grin and tapped his hitai-ate.

"I'm a ninja! I was training!"

"Oh, I see…" the 'girl' looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you fight for a precious person?" Naruto blinked at the sudden question.

"'Precious person'?" he repeated. Thoughts of Iruka popped into his head, and then images of Himaru teaching him also appeared. He grinned. "Yep!" The 'girl' smiled at him.

"I'm glad. I'm sure you'll become very strong. I'm here picking herbs for my precious person." Naruto nodded.

"My name's Naruto, what's yours?" The 'girl' seemed taken aback a moment, but answered.

"Haku. A pleasure to meet you." Haku stood and bowed. "I best be going." Haku turned and started walking away. "Oh, and I'm a boy." Naruto's jaw dropped to the ground.

'A boy? But he's prettier than Sakura-chan!' While his mind was reeling, Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey dobe, Himaru-sensei wants us." Naruto was to eager to meet with his sensei to even notice the 'dobe' comment. Sasuke sighed irritably as Naruto ran off and rubbed the circles under his eyes. Naruto hadn't been the only one who had stayed up training. "Where the Hell does he get all that energy?"



"Now that you're all here, I wanted to run a few tests," Himaru told his students as he flipped his bangs out of his eyes. "First, Sasuke. Show me the Nenshou Kousen." Sasuke nodded and quickly performed the seals.

"Nenshou Kousen no Jutsu!" The red beam shot from his fingers and pierced right through a tree.

"Good," Himaru said and beckoned for more. Sasuke complied and split his two fingers apart, turning the beam into two smaller ones. "Get the beam twice as thick, and then you'll get your gift." Sasuke's lips twitched downwards into a scowl. Himaru just smiled at the Uchiha and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, I want you to practice punching the tree and rocks in the area. Do it until your hands hurt, then start reading the scroll again. Once you can recite me the scroll in your own words, I'll teach you a new jutsu." Sakura nodded vigorously and started on a tree, within Sasuke's line of vision, of course. "Don't forget, you need emotion for it to work right!" Himaru finally turned to Naruto and brushed the bangs out of his hair before speaking.

"Now I'm going to teach you the secret of Akaken. I showed you some of the movements, but can you guess why it's to be used only for killing?" Naruto looked completely blank. "You've never heard o Jyuuken, have you?" Naruto shook his head. "Then I guess I'll just have to tell you. You see, what makes this style so lethal, is that with each blow, you send massive waves of chakra through your limb. The chakra then enters your opponent's body and basically goes medieval on their insides. Normally, this style isn't very viable for long-term battles, but since your natural chakra level is borderline ridiculous, it should work for you." Naruto grinned and nodded rapidly. "Get practicing."

"Hai, Sensei!" Naruto dashed off and entered the Jyuuken-like stance by a nearby tree.



"Idiot," Sasuke said as they left Naruto to recover at Tazuna's house. He just had to overdo it, didn't he?

"Now, now, Sasuke. Naruto was just doing his best," Himaru gently scolded the Uchiha, something with which Sasuke was highly unfamiliar.

"The brat's got spirit, I'll give 'em that," Tazuna said. "Not much in the way of brains, though." Everyone shared a good laugh as they disappeared into the forest.

"Whuh?" Naruto bolted up right in bed, startling Tsunami.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," she greeted. "You're sensei said to meet him at the bridge when you woke up." Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Thanks, Tsunami-san!" Naruto straightened his more or less new clothes before dashing out the door. As Naruto sped through the forest, he noticed that the lower trunks of the trees were cut up. But it was the diced up boar that made him stop. Naruto's eyes widened as he checked. The cuts led to Tazuna's house! "Dammit!" Naruto turned on his heel. "Haipa-Sumiyaka no Jutsu!" Naruto blurred past the trees at in incredible rate, making it back to the house in seconds. He jumped down from his spot on the tree just as the two samurai started to charge Inari, who had been trying to save him mother.

"Oh no you don'!" Instinct took over, and Naruto briefly slid into the Akaken stance from behind the two samurai. They didn't even have time to turn around before his fists connected with their back. They fell to the ground like limp sacks of flour, and Naruto was too busy making sure Inari was okay to notice that they were dead. "Are you okay?" Inari nodded dumbly, and Naruto smacked him on the back. "I got to admit, kid, you were pretty brave!" Inari's face broke out into a grin as Naruto slapped him on the back again. "Well, I got to go help my team. See-ya!" Naruto quickly performed the seals again and was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I love this jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he zipped through the forest and quickly approached the bridge. He saw a thick cloud of mist as he approached. "That's not good!"



Himaru sighed and brushed the hair out of his eyes again. "What are you doing, Zabuza? Do you really think you can defeat me?" Zabuza scowled underneath his bandages.

"Those babies of yours will hold you down. My student, on the other hand, is a true shinobi. Look, the black-haired one is already shaking at only my water clones." Both Himaru and Sasuke smirked.

"I'm shaking…with excitement!" Sasuke turned into a blur as he jumped into action, and in moments all the water clones were reduced to puddles. Sasuke turned his onyx eyes on the masked Haku. "You're next, you masked coward." Himaru sighed at the combined display of Sasuke and Sakura's blushing at how 'cool' the last Uchiha was. Sasuke charged, and Haku ran to meet him. Kunai clashed with senbon as the pair dueled it out. Sasuke seemed to be leading, but Himaru had to drag his attention back to Zabuza.

"So much for your plan," Himaru said as he assumed the Akaken stance. 'This time, I have no need for you,' he thought darkly. "Sakura, stay by Tazuna, just in case." Sakura gave a slight nod and stood by Tazuna's side, a kunai already in hand. Himaru charged Zabuza and pushed the Demon of the Mist back with a flurry of punches. Once Zabuza had backed up a ways, Himaru blurred through some seals.

"Karyudan no Jutsu (Flame Dragon Blast Technique)!" The dragon of fire rushed towards Zabuza, but was cut short by Zabuza's own water dragon. The elemental dragons fought like long-time enemies, but both ended up as steam. Zabuza squinted through the new ocular blockade and listened carefully for footsteps.

"So your student has a blood-line?" Zabuza tensed at the voice from behind him.

'How?' Himaru was concentrating on the pyramid of mirrors.

'I appears I still need this man.' Zabuza gritted his teeth at the man ignoring him and swung his giant blade.

"Damn you!" Himaru caught the blade with only his pointer and middle fingers without even looking back at Zabuza.

'I doubt he'll listen if I try to reason with him, and even I can't take on both him and that blood-line boy at the same time without killing them…Hold on Sasuke.' Himaru rammed his free elbow into Zabuza's gut, minus Akaken. Soon, their duel changed into a taijutsu only, with Zabuza and his sword managing to hold Himaru off without his Akaken.

"Why are you going easy?" Zabuza practically demanded an answer. Himaru ducked his giant blade and attempted a sweeping kick.

"I have my reasons. Perhaps I'll tell you when Gatoh refuses to pay you." Zabuza growled.

"Shut-up!"



Naruto skidded to a halt before he set foot on the bridge. For some reason, Himaru's words rang in his head. "Ninja have to be sneaky, Naruto. They have to be quiet." Naruto was still not completely sure why he stopped for them. He never paid attention when anyone else told him that. Naruto shrugged and, even more surprisingly, stopped to think. After a moment, he nodded to the air and jumped down to the underside of the bridge.

"Chakra control, don't fail me now!" He stuck to the bottom of the bridge and ran along its belly. He stayed at normal speed to avoid missing his mark, and as soon as he heard Sasuke's voice, he prepared his new favorite hand seals. To the other combatants, it appeared as if the blond appeared out of nowhere when he jumped into the air.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" One of Haku's ice mirrors shattered, and didn't have time to reform before Naruto landed in the center of them. "Hey, Sasuke-teme, Naruto's here to save the day!" The needle ridden Uchiha was slack-jawed. Partly that Naruto had had to brains for the sneak attack, and partly that he'd been stupid enough to jump right into the jutsu!

"You idiot, what are you doing?" Naruto stuck his tongue out in response.

"Saving your butt." Sasuke leapt and knocked Naruto to the ground, barely avoiding the senbon.

"You can't even save yourself!" Before the pair could descend into further arguing, the masked ninja readied more senbon.

"Oh, no you don't! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Naruto, no!" Each clone was quickly destroyed, and a rain of senbon also hit the real Naruto. Sasuke was about to yell at Naruto, but then he noticed something. "Naruto, do you think you can make another batch of those clones?"



Himaru felt a smirk tug at his lips when he saw Naruto leap into the ice prison. Suddenly, an idea hit him. "Sakura, go help Naruto and Sasuke. I can protect Tazuna!"

"But-"

"Go!" Sakura looked briefly at Tazuna, how smiled slightly and nodded.

"Go ahead girl, do what you want. I've lived long enough."

"Thank-you." Sakura charged toward the ice mirrors and drew back her fist. "Here goes nothing!"



Haku was frustrated enough when the blond boy joined the fight, but now another person came in whom he would have to kill. He felt a remorseful frown form on his face as the pink-haired kunoichi joined her comrades. "Are you two alright," she asked, and Naruto beamed that she'd said the word 'two'.

"We're fine, Sakura-chan! It takes more than a couple wussy-"

"Naruto, more clones!" Sasuke barked. Naruto grumbled while he created the next platoon. And the being hit by senbon wasn't exactly fun, either.

"Gokayuu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique)!" The tip of Haku's robes were singed before he made it back to his mirrors.

'How can he track my movements? It's not possible!'

"Sasuke, let me heal you!" Sakura shouted and began walking towards her porcupine-like teammate.

"Back, Sakura! If we're too close together he'll just kill us!" Sakura paused, and was hit by senbon in her hesitation.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out as the pink-haired girl struggled back to her feet. Naruto turned back to the masked boy, and his eyes flashed crimson for a moment. "Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" The mirror Haku was in shattered, and he barely dodged Sasuke's fireball when he moved to another one.

"I can see him!" Sasuke shouted, for as soon as Sakura had been struck, everything tinted red. 'My Sharingan has activated! His movements are clear to me!'

'No, he activated his blood-line! I have to end this now!' Haku's gaze targeted a panting Naruto. 'I must.' Haku hit into high gear, and senbon rained down from all angles, seemingly simultaneously. Sasuke managed to deflect most of them that came his way, but Naruto hadn't been so lucky, especially when he moved to take most of the senbon aimed at Sakura.

"Naruto!" Sakura grabbed the blond as he stumbled.

"I-I'm okay." Naruto wobbled to his feet, and was stuck there. He just didn't have the energy left to move. Haku saw his opportunity, and propelled toward Naruto. Sakura was frozen in shock as Sasuke tackled Naruto out the way and took the senbon himself, but not before hurling Haku to the ground. Sasuke tackle shook Naruto out of his daze, and he caught the falling Uchiha.

"Why?" Naruto hissed as Sakura fell to her knees and cried. Sasuke chuckled lightly.

"I don't know. I promised myself I'd live until I killed that man. My brother." Sasuke craned his head to look at Naruto. "Don't let your dream die." Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke's eyes shut. He put Sasuke on his back.

"I hated you, and you saved me. I didn't ask for it, I didn't need your help…" Naruto's body began to shake, but Haku's voice cut through his reverie.

"Is this the first time you've watched a teammate die? It is truly sad, but he died with honor and as a true shinobi. Protecting those precious to him." Haku's words fell on deaf ears as Sakura crawled over to the Uchiha and began crying on his chest, and Naruto just stayed there on his knees.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura moaned, not even bothering to check the to see if the senbon had really killed him, for she was too gripped with grief.

"SASUKE!" Red chakra burst from Naruto and ripped across the ground. Sakura stopped crying and stared at her teammate. His canines grew into fangs, those silly whisker marks became deeper and menacing, and his eyes had turned red and were slit. His fingers elongated and grew claws, and killing intent poured off of him like a waterfall. Naruto's head slowly rotated to face Haku, who was frozen in his mirror in terror.

"**You killed his dream**," Naruto growled, "**And now I'm going to kill you**!" With a mighty roar, the senbon were pushed out of his body, and his wounds were healed. Haku snapped out of his terror, and tried to finish Naruto off while he was roaring, but the boy flipped out of the way on all fours, like an animal. Faster than lightning he grabbed Haku's wrist, and a crunching noise was heard. Haku could only stare at the demonic visage before him.

'Forgive me, Zabuza-sama. I cannot defeat this boy.' Naruto's fist met Haku's mask, and sent the boy flying out of the mirrors and skidding along the bridge. Naruto leapt out to finish him off, but even in his possessed state, stopped at Haku's revealed face.

"You…" Naruto slowly stood, and the red chakra and his new appearance receded.



"What the Hell was that?" Zabuza said once the frightening chakra dissipated. Himaru sighed in relief.

'Thank the gods, the Naruto hasn't killed him yet.' Out loud, he spoke to the missing ninja. "Zabuza, you and I both know that your student has surely been defeated, and you can't defeat me. Surrender." Zabuza gritted his teeth, and prepared to charge Himaru. He'd die before he surrendered. Himaru's eyes narrowed.

"Surrender or I will kill the boy. Painfully." There was a pause, and Zabuza dropped his sword.

"How did you know?" Himaru smiled.

"I just have a sixth sense, for these things. Now come, I have a feeling your student may yet talk Naruto into killing him." Zabuza's eyes narrowed, but he followed Himaru nonetheless.

'How does he know that?' "Haku, stop!" Zabuza said out loud, and caught the attention of his student, who had just finished telling Naruto his story, and why he wanted to die.

"Zabuza-sama?"

"Himaru-sensei?" At first, Naruto looked confused at why Zabuza and his teacher weren't fighting, but then sorrow replaces his confusion. "Sasuke's-" Himaru was already smiling and shaking his head before Sakura's scream.

"Sasuke's alive! It's only a temporary death!" A huge grin spread across Naruto's face, and he was about to run over to Sakura, but he stopped in mid-step. He turned to look at Himaru.

"What's going on, Himaru-sensei?" Himaru smiled and brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"All will be explained in due time, Naruto. But first, go get Sasuke and Sakura." Himaru's face darkened. "A certain rat, is on his way." Naruto blinked in confusion, but ran off to get his teammates anyway.

"Well, well. Looks like you've lost again, eh, Zabuza?" A short, fat man in a suit with a broken arm approached them, and he was surrounded by goons. "Not that I was going to pay you anyway. Too expensive." Zabuza growled at the man and slowly walked forward to pick up his sword. "I'm going to enjoy watching that brat die," Gatoh continued, eyeing Haku, and touching his broken arm. Zabuza growled again and picked up his sword all the way.

"Allow me." Zabuza turned to stare at a smiling Himaru. "Consider it a present in honor of our soon-to-be alliance." Zabuza raised one of his hairless eyebrows at that last part.

"**Gatoh is mine**." Naruto's voice shocked all three ninja. Naruto walked past them, and a red aura was coming off of him. "**After all he's done… I want him to pay**!" Himaru was torn between smiling and frowning at the demonic Naruto. The process _was_ going quickly, but perhaps _too _quickly.

"Naruto, he has betrayed Zabuza, he has full rights to his head. I was merely offering to trim down the goons."

"Let the…boy, do it," Zabuza said, not sure of what Naruto was anymore. Naruto started walking forward, but Himaru's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"STOP!" Himaru's voice echoed with a power similar to Naruto's chakra. He grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and leaned into his whisper into his slightly point ear. "If you kill in this form now, Kyuubi may take you. Do you know what he'll do then?" The red aura faded, and Naruto once again changed back. Zabuza raised his eyebrow again before turning to face Gatoh and his men.

"I accept your offer for the goons, Himaru." The black haired Konoha jounin smirked.

"I'm glade you see it my way." Himaru disappeared and then reappeared in the mass of the guards, who were still scared shitless from Naruto's previous killing intent. He slowly picked them off, one by one, as Zabuza flew through the mass of bodies, and straight for Gatoh. The evil little man barely had time to scream before he was cleaved in half. Once the deed was done, Himaru retreated from the goons, and Zabuza joined him.

"You killed our meal ticket!" One of the goons shouted.

"We'll just have to raid the town, then!" They were about the charge when an arrow stuck itself in front of them.

"You won't touch our town!" Inari, armed with a crossbow, appeared on the horizon, backed by all the citizens of Wave.

"Yeah!" the citizen's shouted. Now faced with an army _and_ ninja, the goons ran screaming. Some even jumped into the sea to get away. Naruto grinned at Inari, who grinned right back and gave the thumbs-up.



"Spill," Zabuza stated simply once they had finally left Wave and were heading back to Konoha. "Why didn't you kill me and Haku?" The three genin and Haku also leaned in to hear. Himaru half-sighed and half-chuckled.

"I suppose I should tell you. This could take awhile." Himaru turned to Naruto. "Naruto, what was the first thing I told you when you told me that your dream is to become the next Hokage?" Naruto thought for a moment before grinning.

"Oh, yeah! You said that I was aiming low!" Sasuke, Haku and Zabuza all gasped simultaneously.

"You want to start a ninja village," Zabuza said. "That's why you wanted Haku, so the village would have a clan with a blood-line."

"And that's why when you complimented or critiqued Naruto, you were always careful to say 'kage', not 'Hokage'," Sasuke said. Himaru smiled, nodded, and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"What? But I'm going to be the Hokage!" Naruto shouted, completely determined. Everyone stopped walking and Himaru bent down to look Naruto straight in the eyes.

"I understand that you want Konoha respect, Naruto. But Haku told you his story, didn't he?" Naruto nodded. "Don't you want to created a village for people like him? A village of outcasts, of people pushed away by society for things out of their control? To show the whole world what underdogs are really capable of? A place where those abandoned by society can be safe an happy?" Naruto thought for a moment, and I mean thought really, really, hard.

"Yes." Naruto grinned. "I do!" Himaru smiled back and slapped his student on back.

"I knew you would."

"Excuse me, Himaru-sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura?" Sakura squirmed a little, and poked her fingers together in a stunning imitation of Hinata.

"Why was Naruto…"Sakura stopped, for she couldn't quite find the words for it. Sasuke was interested as well. He had woken up during the time Naruto had turned demon for the second time. Himaru looked down at Naruto, and the two shared a look. Slowly, reluctantly, Naruto faced his teammates.

"I'll tell you…"

**How was that? The fic will get better once I can start to deviate from the original plot a little bit more! Next come their costume changes! Please review!**


	8. The Return of Team 7

**Hello! I'm doing a bit of time skip, here, but only for the coupled months before the chuunin exam. This is where it should start to get really good!**

Sarutobi took a deep puff on his pipe. 'The Chuunin Exams start tomorrow, so Naruto and his team should be coming back today…'

Flashback:

"Pardon?" The Hokage raised his wrinkled eyebrow at the jounin in front of him.

"I would like to request a brief training mission with my team for the upcoming chuunin exams," Himaru replied, still bowing to the Hokage. "I believe they're ready for the next stage of my training, but I can't do that here in Konoha." Himaru looked up to face Sarutobi eye-to-eye. "They successfully performed an A-rank mission. I believe they're ready for the next step." The old ninja seemed to mull it over. He didn't trust this man all that much. He showed up only recently, just before the genin exam and presented Sarutobi with a hog-tied A-rank missing ninja in exchange for a position as a Konoha jounin.

Himaru seemed to sense the old man's hesitation, and snapped Sarutobi out of his thoughts with a snap of his own. "Naruto!" As if he'd been waiting outside the door of the Hokage's office the entire time, which he probably was, said blond ninja rammed down the door.

"Oiroke no Jutsu (Do I really need to tell you?)!"

End Flashback:

Sarutobi mumbled something under his breath and blushed. "I thought I told him that was a kinjutsu…"



Konohamaru was bored out of his mind. He, Udon and Moegi were sitting out by Ichiraku's Ramen. "Ever since Naruto-niisan left, there's been nothing to do!" Konohamaru kicked a can for emphasis.

"You missed me that much? I'm touched." All three faces brightened and they leapt to their feet.

"Naruto-nii…san?" Naruto was grinning down at them, but it was almost hard to tell that it was still him. He was wearing night blue pants and a matching trench coat (think Dante's), his overall features had narrowed slightly, and his whisker marks were a little deeper and longer. He wore bandages instead of gloves and now wore black combat boots instead of sandals. An orange shirt was underneath the coat. Most surprising, however, was not the slight glow to his hair and eyes, but his size. Somehow, in only about a month, he had become tall. It was like his height had almost reversed. Instead of being a few inches to short, he was actually taller than average. His hitai-ate, however, was still on his forehead.

"Whoa…" the trio breathed at their new and improved hero. Naruto grinned at them, showing off fangs that would make an Inuzuka jealous.

"Wanna play 'Ninja'?" The three academy students nodded so quickly that it looked like their heads were going to fall of.

"A ninja playing 'Ninja'?" A short haired Sakura came up from behind him. She wore a black jumpsuit with emerald green gauntlets and dreaves (shin gauntlets) that turned into green shoes at the bottom. A practically emerald belt balanced the whole outfit out and her hitai-ate was worn in her usual style, on top of her head like a ribbon. Naruto rubbed the side of his head and grinned sheepishly at her.

"They enjoy it." Sakura sighed over-dramatically, but still smiled at her teammate.

"'They' enjoy it?"

"Who's the lady, Niisan?" Konohamaru asked. He narrowed his eyes at Sakura. "She's not your girlfriend, is she? I mean, look at that forehead!" Time seemed to freeze for moment, and the outside temperature quickly followed suit.

"Run, Konohamaru, run!" Naruto grabbed the Hokage's grandson by his collar and chucked him across the street. Once Konohamaru finally tumbled to a stop, he only paused for a moment to yell at Naruto before he saw the very pissed kunoichi coming his way.

"AHHHHH!" Konohamaru took off running. His legs burned as he practically flew past village blocks until he crashed into something. He had only looked back for a moment to check to see if Sakura was still following him, and he ended up slamming into someone's leg.

"Watch where you're going!" The black-clad stranger hoisted Konohamaru up by the scruff of his shirt and glared at him, eye to eye.

"Lemme go!" Konohamaru shouted and started thrashing around in the stranger's iron grip. Kankouro 'Tched' at the boy.

"I hate brats like you."

"I suggest you put that 'brat' down." Kankouro turned a lazy eye to the two Konoha genin, a blond boy and a girl. It was the blond who had spoken. A smirk found its way to Kankouro's face.

"And what if I don't?"

"Kankouro, don't start trouble." He didn't even bother to look at his sister.

"Relax, Temari. _He_ isn't here yet, why don't we have some fun with these brats?" This time, Naruto was the one who smirked.

"Sounds good to me!" Kankouro barely had time to blink before he felt a fist in the side of his face. He didn't even notice dropping Konohamaru as he slammed right through a wooden fence. Temari was gaping as Naruto skidded to a halt from his previous charge and readied to attack once again.

"Stop it, Naruto. We don't want to cause an inter-village incident." The blond's fist stopped inches away from Kankouro's face.

"You just have to ruin my fun, huh Sasuke-teme?" Said ninja jumped down from his spot on the tree. He too wore bandages over his arms, right up to the sleeves of his black short-sleeved shirt and probably past them. He wore long black pants and thinner versions of Naruto's combat boots. He still had his trademark collar and fan and his hitai-ate was still on his forehead, but his most noticeable change was the katana strapped to his waist. The sheath was black except for a crimson dragon design wrapping around it, and the sword's handle itself was also black. The only other part of the blade that could be seen was the hand-protector: a crimson dragon's head with its mouth slightly open and a piece of sheath entering said open mouth in a triangle shape.

"Yeah, sucks to keeping the peace and all that," Sasuke replied with a nonchalant air. He turned his stony gaze on the Suna ninja. "What are you two doing here?" Kankouro gritted his teeth and pulled the bandaged case off of his back.

"Stop it, Kankouro." The Suna puppeteer froze as the icy voice. "Bring more dishonor to our village and I'll kill you myself." Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all narrowed their eyes at the new arrival who was still perched on a tree.

'I didn't even sense him until just now,' they all thought.

'He's good,' Sasuke and Naruto added with excitement. Sand enshrouded Gaara and he teleported down to their level. Sasuke, meanwhile, continued on with his questioning.

"Are you three here for the Chuunin Exams?"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Sakura punched Naruto hard enough to send him into the concrete. She glared at Naruto's twitching form.

"Idiot! Don't you remember the whole reason we came back?" Naruto curled up like a puppy under her hard gaze.

"Don't be like that, Sakura-chan!" At this point, _all _three Suna ninja were utterly befuddled, and Temari and Kankouro both showed it. The blond had just beaten the crap out of Kankouro without breaking a sweat, and now he was cowering like a whipped dog at the feet of this kunoichi. Sasuke turned back to the Suna ninja while Sakura helped her teammate up, scolding him about paying attention to Himaru-sensei, and Naruto just kept pleading that he did. Ignoring his sweat drop and his teammates, Sasuke spoke again.

"What's your name?" Sasuke stared pointedly at Gaara.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara, and I must admit I would like to know all of your names."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, the blond is Naruto Uzumaki, and the kunoichi is Sakura Haruno. See you in the exams." Sasuke turned his back on the Suna ninja and motioned for his teammates to follow him.

"What interesting prey…"Gaara mumbled as he watched their retreating forms with a predatory stare.



"That was so cool, Naruto-niisan!" Konohamaru was jumping up and down, and Udon and Moegi were avidly following his lead. "You knocked that make-up wearing weirdo all the way through the fence!" Naruto grinned and rubbed the now much shorter boy's hair.

"Yep. I'm just that awesome."

"As if, dobe." Naruto glowered at his brunette teammate.

"No one was talking to you, Sasuke-teme!"

"Be nice boys, there are little kids watching," Sakura reprimanded both of them more or less playfully.

"You're the one who tried to kill Konohamaru," Naruto mumbled, and Sakura quickly, without even so much as looking at Naruto, elbowed him in the ribs. "You'd think I'd be used to that by now…" he wheezed as he resisted crumpling like a sheet of paper.

"Enough fooling around, we have to hurry up and prepare for the exam."

"Isn't that what we've been doing for the entire month, Sasuke-kun?"

"I want to perfect that one kenjutsu (sword technique) before we go tomorrow." Naruto half-sighed and half-growled.

"Great, now I get to be your punching bag too."

"Not our fault you the one who heals really fast." Naruto mumbled something incomprehensible before both boys bolted.

"Bye guys!" Naruto's good-bye was an echo on the wind for the three academy students.

"Aw man," Konohamaru kicked at the dust.

"At least the scary girl left just now too," Moegi said in an attempt to comfort Konohamaru.

"Hey, you're right! I didn't get beaten up!"

**Sorry this is so short, but I'll update again soon! Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming! _Constructive _criticism is welcome!**


	9. The First Exam

**Told you I'd update. NewSon, thanks for the input on Naruto's costume. I'm ditching the coat this chapter. When I looked back on it that did make it seem a little gaudy. :p And thanks everyone for the great reviews. Um… Oh yeah! I probably will let you know how their training was, but mostly in flashbacks. Sorry, but I'm lazy. And just to warn people, this will eventually be a NaruHina. Oh, and just for future reference, until I totally leave the set in stone events of Naruto, I will occasionally use a  to skip through scenes everyone knows and that I won't change.**

"What happened to your coat, Naruto?" Sakura asked her fuming teammate. Naruto had his arms folded in front of his chest and he was obviously huffing about something, presumably his missing coat.

"The teme chopped it up with that stupid jutsu of his."

"You should thank me. That thing looked god awful on you, even if you did finally fit in it." Naruto took his arms away from his orange tee shirt, which without the coat on you could see a dark blue spiral made of nine tails adorning his back.

"You'll just have to take your anger out on the exam," Sakura (sort of) comforted her teammate. At the mention of the Chuunin Exam, an almost scary grin spread across Naruto's face.

"I guess so."

"Don't encourage him Sakura, we have enough trouble keeping a leash on him already." Naruto flipped Sasuke off as they finally made it to the academy where the exams were to start. A shiver of excitement ran down Naruto's semi-large frame.

"I can already feel it, this is gonna be fun." Sasuke smirked.

"Well, of all things, you've never been wrong on that."

"I'd like to disagree…"Sakura mumbled and rubbed her forehead with her gauntlet-covered hands as she took a quick stroll through her memories of the past month. "I still can't look at a rat without reaching for a kunai." Naruto shrugged sheepishly.

"Hey, even you were smiling while we fought those things."

"I was smiling because…" Sakura stopped there, but Naruto continued for her.

"Okay, so your fun didn't come until Sasuke had to take his shirt off so you could treat him. Same difference." Both aforementioned shinobi blushed and quickened their pace, trying their best to ignore Naruto's raucous laughter.



"Please let us through!" Two 'genin' in front of the door to the waiting room shoved a green clad genin to the floor.

"We're doing you guys a favor!" The one in bandages shouted.

"Walk away while you can. This is exam is a monster in itself. Some of you won't make it through a live and the others will go mad."

"Already runs in the blood. Move it." Everyone in the room turned to face the new entrees. Sasuke stood there, Naruto and Sakura on either side. "And at least put up a better genjutsu. Even Naruto noticed that this is only the second floor." Naruto had to bite his lip to avoid shouting at his teammate and ruining the moment. Sakura didn't even wait for the 'genin' to dispel the illusion themselves, and instead did for them with barely a flick of her hand. A wave of muttering swept through the other genin as the two 'genin' guarding the door smirked.

"Think you're tough, huh?" The one with bandages on his face charged in an attempt to strike Sasuke. With a smirk of his own, Sasuke retaliated with a kick. Small gasps elicited from the crowed as a green blur caught both attacks with ease.

'I had a feeling he was faking,' Sasuke thought briefly before examining the green genin. He sweat dropped the moment he began his examination. This weirdo…was wearing a spandex jump suit? The sweat drop doubled in size when the genin was first berated by his teammates for blowing their cover, and then doubled _again _when he asked Sakura out, and she quite flatly refused. Naruto's face looked like it was about to explode from held in laughter by the time Lee was crying in the corner.

"You, what's your name?" Sasuke turned a lazy eye towards his inquisitor, intentionally aggravating him.

"It's polite to introduce yourself before asking another's name." The white-eyed boy narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha and glared.

"What did you say?" The white-eyed boy turned on his heel and walked through the door. His other teammate, a girl in a pink shirt, giggled at the interaction between the two boys, and eyed Sasuke's sword before following her teammate. And I mean the metal one, pervs.

"That guy looks to be a bigger bastard than you," Naruto observed as the trio left entered the next room through the door together.

"Wait!" All three of them swiveled around to face the strange green genin. "I am Rock Lee. It is polite to introduce yourself first, is it not, Sasuke Uchiha?" Sasuke smirked at Lee. He knew where this was going.

"I presume you want to fight me?" Sasuke's statement fell on deaf ears as Lee kept trying to blow kisses at Sakura, who kept dodging as if her life depended on it. Eventually going so far as to smash her head into the ground to duck the last one. The biggest sweat drop in the history of sweat drops grew on Sasuke's head, and Naruto was curled up on the floor busting a gut. Sasuke coughed to get the somewhat depressed Lee's attention.

"Did you come here to fight me or not?" Lee nodded rapidly and assumed his stance.

"You sure you want to waster your time, Sasuke?" Naruto turned to face Lee. "No offense, Bushy-brows, but I saw you move, and you don't stand a chance." Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"Who knows Naruto, maybe this will be the fight that moves me up to the third tomoe. I've been on two for long enough."

"You said that a day after you got the second tomoe."

"Shut-up." Sasuke assumed a stance of his own before charging Lee in a burst of speed. Lee gasped as he barely avoided the first blow, and then definitely didn't avoid the second one. The two danced00 in combat for awhile, Sasuke leading with his slightly superior speed.

"You are very good, Sasuke," Lee commented as he blocked several more punches and kicks. "But now I will show you why a genius like you can't stand up to a true genius…a genius of hard work!" Lee seemed to blur out of existence, and Sasuke could barely dodge his nearly invisible blows, even with the Sharingan. Lee had yet to land a solid hit, but Sasuke was already hurting from only grazing after grazing he was getting. Naruto's eyes widened as he smelled the sudden increase of fluxing chakra.

"Sasuke, this guy's serious! He just opened the first gate!"

'I'm sorry, Gai-sensei. But I have to use that move!' Sasuke barely had time to register the information Naruto was giving him before Lee's foot connected with his chin. Sasuke soared into the air until Lee appeared behind him, the bandages around his arms unwrapped. A pair of shuriken struck said loose bandages and pinned Lee to a wall, leaving Sasuke to land on his feet.

"Lee! You know that move is forbidden!" Three jaws dropped as a giant turtle walked into the room.



Team 7 was utterly flabbergasted at the display they had just witnessed. "What…the Hell…was that?" Naruto breathed, but unfortunately, that was all that was needed to remind Gai that they were there.

"Well hello, my spring time blossoms of youth! So you are the students that new guy stole from my eternal rival Kakashi, hm?" They vaguely remembered Himaru telling them that their original teacher was going to be some guy named Kakashi. "So tell me…" Gai vanished and seemed to reappear behind them almost instantaneously. "…Is he as fast as me?"

"Faster." Gai did an anime fall down.

"No one is faster than Gai-sensei! He is the greatest!" Lee shouted in defense of his mentor.

"Now, now Lee. If this sensei of theirs is truly so bursting with youth then we should be happy for him! Now come! To the exam!" Both spandex-clad shinobi disappeared in twin rushes of speed, leaving Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura still wondering what the Hell had just happened.

"That guy trained a lot," Naruto said, and he unconsciously rubbed his own arm bandages. "You get a look at his hands?" Sasuke nodded and large smirk found its way to his face.

"This exam is getting interesting." Sasuke took the first step to the last door between them and the exam.

"Everybody ready?" Naruto and Sakura nodded. Sasuke smiled briefly before he wrapped his fingers around the handles and pulled. Almost every eye in the room fixed on them before returning to each other.

"This looks promising," Naruto stated as he observed the competition, occasionally sniffing the air.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke barely had time to sigh before Ino came out of nowhere and glomped him. She curled her arms around his chest and rested her head on his shoulders before smirking at Sakura. Confusion flashed across Ino's face at Sakura's new appearance, but she quickly regained her composure.

"What's the matter, Bill-board Brow?" Ino gestured at Sakura's hair. "Finally realize you don't have a chance with _my _Sasuke-kun?" Sakura clenched her fists, but was cut off by Sasuke before she could speak.

"Actually, I like short hair better anyway." He smoothly pulled himself from Ino's shocked to limpness arms and wrapped his own around Sakura's waist from behind her. Sakura grinned triumphantly at her rival.

"This is going to be troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as he finally caught up to Ino.

"So it looks like the whole Rookie 9 made it." Team 8 rounded the corner with Kiba in front. "Better watch out because we're gonna blow you guys away!" Naruto's sharp laugh brought the group attention on him, and there were a couple muffled gasps from the other two teams. Naruto grinned. He was taller than all of them, though his other features struck them almost as much, especially for Hinata and Ino.

"I'd like to see you try, Dog-boy." Kiba attempted to regain his tough composure.

"Finally invested in high-heeled shoes, Naruto?" A surprisingly menacing growl escaped Naruto's throat.

"For your information, Naruto did have a growth spurt," Sakura said in Naruto's defense. The blond fox boy grinned at her. "I admit it was a somewhat freakish growth spurt, but that's all him." Naruto's grin faltered slightly, but he held most of it up.

"You rookies might want to keep quiet." All heads turned to the oncoming white-haired genin. "Tensions are a tad high, and these genin will tear you apart."

"Oh? And like you're an expert?" Naruto asked. Kabuto whipped out his deck of cards.

"Yes I am. These cards hold all the information I've gathered in my four tries on the exam. Tell you what, out of the goodness of my heart, I'll lend you rookies a hand."

"Four tries? You must stink." Kabuto's eye twitched at Kiba's remark.

"Yes, well, the exam is trickier than one might think."

"So those cards have information on all of genin here?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto nodded.

"Anyone you want info on?"

"A guy from Suna named Gaara and Rock Lee."

"You know their names? That's no fun." Kabuto shuffled his cars and applied his chakra before whipping out two cards.



"I hope none of you have questions on the Oto ninja. Otogakure is so small that I don't have much information on them yet."

"I think you're about to get some," Sasuke stated right before Oto genin launched from the crowd. Kabuto easily dodged the kunai and the bandaged genin's punch, but he didn't even have time to smirk before his glasses shattered.

"So it's that kind of attack, huh?" Moments later, Kabuto fell to his knees and puked.

"Enough!" A very large and intimidating jounin burst through the door. "There will be no fighting unless first permitted by a proctor, and even then killing your opponent is strictly forbidden!"

"No killing? So this is a girly-man's exam, huh?" Ibiki ignored the spiky-haired genin and introduced himself to the examinees.

"I am the proctor of the first exam, Ibiki Morino!" Ibiki waltzed back through the doors and the would-be chuunin followed en masse. "Everyone take a seat for the written exam!" Naruto barely heard the sadistic jounin as he explained the rules.

'T-test?'

"Begin!" Furious scribbling was heard, but Naruto was still above his paper.



"So, Himaru, you sure your students are ready for this?" Asuma took a deep drag on his cigarette while he awaited a reply from the lounging jounin.

"I'm quite sure, Asuma-san."

"Even with Ibiki as their proctor?" Asuma had hoped to make the new guy's knees knock, but Himaru barely even registered it.

"You mean the Head of Interrogation guy, right?" Himaru chuckled. "I'm not worried."

"The Head of Interrogation is proctoring the first exam?" Kurenai broke in, sounding startled. "That's a bit rough." Himaru waved his hand, dismissing the thought.

"Relax, Kurenai-san. Getting stressed won't solve anything."

"After all the fuss you put up with Kakashi to get these kids, you're not worried about them?" Asuma said, still trying to rattle Himaru's chain. He was a tad angry that this new guy pushed his old comrade aside like that.

"I don't worry, I help. And they don't need my help at the moment." Himaru turned a lazy eye towards Asuma in a starling imitation of Kakashi. "And they needed my help to save them from Kakashi. A great ninja, but a horrible teacher."

"And how would you know?"

"I studied his psychology profile. He has all the makings for a bad teacher."

"You broke into the records?" Kurenai asked, staring at the strange man. Himaru shrugged and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"I gave it back."



'Sasuke and Sakura-chan are going to kill me!' Several failings later, Naruto was still knocking his knees together. Oh why couldn't Himaru have trained his brain more?

"N-Naruto-kun." Naruto stopped fidgeting and swung his head to the side.

"Hinata?" She smiled weakly at him and started sliding here paper over to him.

"Y-you can ch-cheat off my p-paper, i-if you w-want." A grin started to spread across Naruto's face, but suddenly a thought hit him like a hammer.

'Of course! That guy did emphasis the whole cheating thing!' Naruto reformed his grin and kept it aimed on Hinata, who was starting to turn a whole new shade of red under his slightly glowing gaze. "No thanks, Hinata. I'm going to keep my honor." Hinata tried to smile back at him, but had to look away. Once she wasn't looking at him, Naruto's grin turned into a smirk. 'Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going to cheat. I just won't do it the easy way.' Naruto did a quick check of his surroundings, and sure enough, almost everyone was cheating. Lee and Tenten were using mirrors, that Neji guy was using his Byakugan, and Sasuke had his Sharingan activated. A smirk came to Naruto's face as he watched Sakura just writing everything down.

'Well, on to business!' Naruto started performing hand seals under his desk. Monkey-rooster-monkey-boar-rabbit. 'Omoi Kusari no Jutsu (Thought Chain Technique)!'

'Naruto?' Naruto grinned as he heard Sakura's voice echo in his mind.

'Hi, Sakura-chan!'

'This better be for something other than chatting.' Even in her thoughts Sakura scared him.

'No, no! I need help with the exam!' Sakura giggled.

'I was joking, Naruto. I was expecting you to call.' Naruto pouted at her. 'Listen up, Naruto, because I'm not going to repeat myself.' Naruto gave the barest of nods, and to anyone watching it would have looked like he was suddenly hit by inspiration as he calmly and quickly wrote down the answers.



Time seemed to slow down as the tension in the room increased. If you got the tenth question wrong, and you'll stay a genin forever. That thought kept ringing through their heads. Soon, one by one, teams quit and left, until the once full room was a mere shadow of its former self. A sudden smacking noise rang across the room as Naruto struck the table, creating a web of cracks. "Just bring it on, already! I'll become a kage even if I have to do it through sheer stubbornness!" Ibiki was torn between smirking and scowling. On one hand, the kid showed some real guts and even put some spine into the other entrees. On the other, however, Ibiki had really wanted to lose some more genin first, but none of these guys were going to budge.

"Well then," Ibiki's voice was loud and clear. "Congratulations to all of you for passing the first exam!"


	10. The Forest of Death

**Eh…here's the next chapter. Man, I'm freaking _BORED!_**

The peace after Ibiki had silenced the questions about the tenth question of his test was short lived. "You're early…" Ibiki growled while rubbing his forehead. The very strange kunoichi with a kite (?) strapped to her back ignored him.

"Still twenty-six teams, Ibiki? You're losing your touch." Said interrogator's eye twitched.

"Or it could be we have an unusually impressive group this time." Anko shrugged it off and introduced her self, in a very loud fashion of course, to the genin.

"My name's Anko Mitarashi, meet me in the Training Area 44 immediately for the next test." A sadistic shine found its way to Anko's eyes. "And I'll warn you now, I'm going to cut your numbers by half!" Most of the genin gulped in fear, but a select few were mostly unfazed. Well, unfazed might not be the right word.

'Great, a female Naruto for our proctor!' Sakura felt like banging her head against her desk. Overall, Anko was pleased at the result her little stunt had brought, and smirked in triumph before leaping back out the shattered window.

"What a freak," Naruto stated loudly enough for everyone to hear.



Naruto was hopping from foot to foot in front of the forest. The whole place was giving him a tingling feeling. "Hurry up and let us in!" Naruto's brazen shout interrupted Anko in her little tirade about the Forest of Death. A very creepy smile slithered across Anko's face.

"Oh, a tough guy, huh?" In a whirl of nearly invisible movement, Anko hurled a kunai at the eager blond. As she prepared to teleport behind him to lick the soon-to-be cut, he did something that surprised even her. He craned his head to the side as the kunai came at him and took it head on. There was a stunned silence in the crowed before a cracking sound was heard, and shard of metal fell to the ground at Naruto's feet.

"Hope the forest is more impressive than that little show," Naruto said as he ground the metal shards into dust underneath his foot. Anko shot another creepy smile at Naruto again.

"This'll be fun." After another brief pause, Anko explained the exam, and every team signed their forms and got their scrolls.

"Baka!" Sakura punched Naruto over the head. "Showing off like that! Now the teams know to be weary of us!"

"It's no fun if the prey doesn't know to run," Naruto replied, and Sakura involuntarily shivered.

"Stop doing that, you know it creeps me out." Naruto's previous predatory expression was replaced by his usual foxy grin.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but I can't help it!" Sakura sighed, and Sasuke just chuckled lightly at the whole ordeal.

"Don't worry, Sakura. We'll just go with retrieval plan B, okay?" Both genin nodded, and the trio prepared to descend into the forest. The bell rang, and the gates opened, and twenty-six teams of shinobi raced into the infamous forest. Team 7 practically flew across the branches.

"Well, Naruto?" Sasuke asked without even looking at his teammate. Naruto sniffed the air, and his teammates felt the familiar feeling of his chakra spread out and wash over them to spread along the forest like a carpet. Naruto grinned, not that his teammates could see it.

"About a hundred yards north from here. I don't sense anything too unusual. Should be a quick fight."

"Good." Sakura left no room for argument, not even for Sasuke, the more or less leader of the team.

"Okay, okay," Naruto said, trying to appease the kunoichi. "Follow me, I'll let you guys know when we get close enough."



The team of Kiri genin propelled themselves along the trees. "Anybody sense anything else?" the ninja in front asked through his gas mask thing.

"Not since that last chakra surge a couple of minutes ago," one of his identically garbed teammates replied. "What do you think it was?"

"Hurgh!"

"Eh?" the two genin in front turned their heads slightly, only to watch their teammate fall off the branches, several senbon sticking out of his body. "What the-agh!" They gasped for air through their masks as the fists met their bodies. Blood filled their masks from the single blow, and they only managed to see a brunette and a blond before they passed out.

"Dang, that was easy," Naruto said as he stopped the body of the genin from falling. "Found the scroll. What do you know, an earth scroll, just what we need." Naruto said in a slightly disappointed tone before he dropped the body on a particularly thick branch. He then pocketed the scroll. Always best to have them separate.

"It sure was nice of Haku-san to teach me how to use these." Sakura asked hopefully as she rejoined the boys, having had to fetch her senbon prior.

"He's got to have somebody to repopulate his clan with!" Naruto teased her, earning a blush and a very painful elbow to the stomach. "It was worth it!" he wheezed, trying to suppress his laughter lest he earn more pain.

"If you're quite done, we should head to the tower. We can pick up any scrolls we happen to stumble upon on the way." Naruto did his little happy dance that he had developed to express happiness without shouting. Sasuke covered his eyes and sweat dropped.

"Naruto…how many times have I told you not to do that?" Naruto didn't stop 'dancing' as he replied.

"Forty-seven and a half." Sasuke raised his eyebrow at his teammate's count. "You were stunned speechless the first time, and only managed to utter part of a sentence." Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Think a stupid question…

"Can we go now?" Sakura asked, a little pleadingly. Naruto stopped dancing and Sasuke started forward with a grateful sigh.



"You guys hear something?" Naruto asked as a strange whistling noise started to ring across the forest. Sasuke narrowed his eyes but didn't stop moving.

"That sounds like…"

"A Fuuton jutsu!" Sakura finished for him, but it was too late, and they didn't have time to dodge before the great gust of win hurled them to the forest floor, separating Naruto from the others. Sasuke and Sakura couldn't manage to grab onto something, and were thus throwing into a gigantic tree.

"Damn," Sasuke muttered as he stumbled back to his feet and shook it off. "You okay, Sakura?" The pink-haired kunoichi nodded and also got to her feet.

"Where's Naruto?"

"He'll be okay," Sasuke reassured her. "The dobe's nothing if not sturdy." Sakura would have smiled and nodded, but an ominous chakra filled the air as a strange Grass 'kunoichi' landed in front of them.

"Well hello, my little friends,' the ninja said, 'her' voice raspy.

"You attacked us," Sasuke stated simply and put his hand on his sword and activated his Sharingan. A smile creeped its way to their opponent's lips.

"What impressive eyes." The 'kunoichi' pulled out 'her' scroll. "Now come, we shall fight for our scrolls!" Sasuke felt himself gaping as the Grass ninja swallowed 'her' scroll.

"What the heck?" Sakura mumbled as she drew slightly closer to Sasuke without leaving her fighting stance.

"Yes…we shall fight… to the death!" Sasuke and Sakura were hit by a massive wave of killing intent, and their whole bodies shook.

"M-my. That was unpleasant," Sasuke said as he once again took command of his body. "But I've felt the blood lust of a demon. That's nothing." Sasuke charged the Grass genin, much to 'her' delight. Sasuke looked like he was about to draw his sword, but then disappeared in a blur. On instinct, mostly, the Grass genin looked up to see the Uchiha genius in mid-air and performing hand seals.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique)!" A massive sea of flame came down on 'her', but the genin ignored the fire and shot right through it, aiming right at Sasuke. A rain of senbon from the side interrupted the Grass ninja and forced her back to the ground. 'She' brushed the senbon sticking out of her away like flies, and glared at Sakura.

"You won't hurt Sasuke-kun!" Sakura started performing seals of her own, and the Grass genin found 'herself' to be in between two genin ready to launch attacks at 'her'.

"Nenshou Kousen no Jutsu!" The Grass ninja calmly sidestepped the beam, but noticed that the kunoichi had long since stopped doing her hand seals, and instead held up her very shiny gauntlets against the laser.

'Damn,' 'she' thought right before the laser bounced back and then split into five beams, effectively striking 'her'. The ninja fell to the ground and dissolved into a pile of mud.

"Dammit!" Sasuke cursed aloud as his eyes searched for the ninja. Sasuke nearly stopped breathing as he saw the ninja appear behind Sakura. "NO!" A kunai pierced his teammate's chest and she fell to the ground. Part of Sasuke knew that Sakura could heal herself, but his logical side was currently eclipsed. He charged the smirking Grass ninja and the two met in a dance of taijutsu. Finally, Sasuke drew his blade. The Grass ninja barely had time to dodge before the already crimson steel sliced clean through one of the trees.

"I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke's voice took a more primal edge to it as he chased the Grass ninja into the canopy. Each swing of his katana felled a branch or tree, but he still couldn't hit the mysterious Grass ninja. "Hold still, dammit!" Sasuke's voice retained its primal edge, and suddenly he vanished. The Grass ninja barely had time to raise an eyebrow before ninja wire wrapped around him and bound him to a tree. One that Sasuke had been leading him to the whole time.

'So, he wasn't even trying to hit me.'

"Ryuuka no Jutsu (Dragon Flame Technique)!" The flaming serpent flew down the wire and engulfed the Grass ninja. Sasuke panted as he left the flaming body to check on Sakura. Sure enough, she was just finishing up patching herself up.

"It's a lot harder to heal yourself than it is others," she apologized, but Sasuke still smiled.

"As long as you're alright." Sakura smiled, and on the inside Inner Sakura was cheering.

'**Take that, Ino-pig! Cha!**'

"What an impressive attack, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke and Sakura froze at the voice.

"No way," Sasuke hissed as he slowly turned around. The Grass ninja was a top a giant snake, and part of 'her' face was melted off, revealing a second face underneath.

"Now, see if you can handle my pet."

"My turn!" An orange and black blur tackled the snake, rather unceremoniously causing the 'Grass ninja' to fall off. It only took a few moments of wrestling before the snake vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto was about to grin triumphantly, but what Sasuke was doing totally threw him off: he was handing the enemy one of their scrolls.

"What are you doing!" he shouted, but Sasuke shouted right back.

"Naruto, you have no idea how powerful this guy is, and truth be told, neither do I! He's been playing with me this whole time!" The ninja smirked.

"How very clever, Sasuke. Your eyes may be even sharper than Itachi's." Sasuke's hand tightened around the scroll at the name of his brother. Sasuke had to bite his lip to avoid shouting out questions. This…thing was too dangerous.

"So you're going to give him our scroll?" Naruto shouted again. "If he's really so powerful he'll probably just kill us anyway!" Naruto assumed the Akaken stance, and started to glow with navy blue chakra. The ninja widened his eyes not just at the forbidden stance, but also at the strange chakra. This was surely the fox boy, but what the Hell was that?

'That might turn out to be useful.' Without a word, the ninja's neck extended like lightning straight at Sasuke. Naruto intercepted it just in time, but the neck slipped through his grasp and bit _Naruto_ on the neck, who then dropped to the ground screaming. Sasuke tried to rush forward, but the fangs struck his neck as well, reducing both boys to curled up balls of agony.

"What'd you do to them!" Sakura shouted and leapt in front of both of her teammates, just in case.

"I just left them a little parting gift. Sasuke will come to seek me out for power, he will seek Orochimaru." The snake disappeared into the shadows.

**Muwahahahaha! I love cliffhangers! Well, I love to _write_ them, anyway. Now you'll have to keep reading my fic, lest you die of curiosity! Please read and review, and refrain from cursing me for my cliffhangers, past, present and future. Thanks :)**


	11. The End of the Second Exam

**I'm updating again. I'm so FING bored! Thanks for the reviews, by the way.**

Sakura changed Sasuke's wet towel. Both her teammates lay on their backs underneath a tree. Sakura just gazed down worriedly at her teammates. Naruto seemed to be doing better, and the strange seal on his neck was fading in and out. 'Thank Kami-sama for Kyuubi.' Sakura ignored the irony of her own statement as she switched her focus.

'Sasuke-kun.' Sasuke was not faring nearly as well as the blond. He was twitching slightly, his breathing was irregular and he had a horrible fever. Sakura sighed. None of her healing jutsu did anything. How she wished she had Naruto's skill with seals. Sakura absent-mindedly reached into her equipment pouch and popped a special soldier pill into her mouth. Sakura whirled on a sudden noise, her fists and a kunai at the ready.

"Squeak?" Sakura sweat dropped.

'A squirrel?' The small rodent's nose twitched before he began to run head long towards Sakura. Her eyes widened in fright and she threw her kunai, scaring the squirrel off. Sakura let a sigh of relief escape her lips before turning back to her teammates.

"You think she saw the explosive note?" The spiky haired Oto genin asked.

"No," the bandaged one replied. "There is something else." The spiky haired genin shrugged and smirked.

"Hey! Mind waking Sasuke up for us? We want to fight him!" Sakura whipped her head around to face the three Oto genin. If the Oto ninja had been expecting her to whimper or cry, they were displeased. Sakura slowly stood to her feet and cracked her green-clad knuckles.

"I was hoping for a way to relieve all this stress," she said. "And I'll just beat any information you might have about Orochimaru right out of you." The three Oto ninja looked shocked that she knew their lord's name and they didn't have much time to recover from it. Sakura charged them, her fist drawn back. Zaku smirked and quickly performed some hand seals.

"Zankuuha (Decapitating Air Wave)!" Sakura had crouched down as soon as Zaku had begun his seals, and she launched herself into the air, above the air blasts. "Idiot, now you can't dodge! Zankuuha!" Sakura had to resist her urge to shake her head and smirk as the air blasts blew apart a log.

"You're not very smart, are you?" Zaku didn't have time to reply as a fist made contact with his cheek. He soared _through _the ground and into a tree, but Sakura didn't' stop at that. With two quick movements, she struck both of the other Oto genin and sent them flying in two different directions. "Is that all you've got? You wouldn't last a second against Sasuke-kun."

To say Ino was shocked as she watched he former friend fight was an understatement. Like saying that it tingles when you're dipped in lava. "Who's their sensei?" Shikamaru asked, breaking Ino away from her memories. Ino clenched her fists. How? How had Sakura gotten so strong _and _garnered Sasuke's attention? Of course Ino didn't see a correlation between the two, even though there was more to it than that.

"Should we help?"

"What?" Ino turned to Shikamaru.

"You used to be friends, didn't you? Should we help?" Ino turned back to the fight, and she noticed almost regrettably that Sakura didn't need any help.

With several well-placed blows and multiple substitutions Sakura finally gathered the beaten and bruised Oto ninja into one spot. "And now for the coup de grace." She launched a kunai, missing the Oto genin by a mile. Dosu was the first to figure it out.

"Dammit!" he cursed as a giant log came flying at them. "You'll have to do better than that!" He performed his own hand seals and blew the log away with his arm gadget.

"Who said that was it?" Sakura was in between all three of them. The Sakura who had set the trap off smiled before poofing out of existence.

'A clone? We've been fighting a _clone_ since she used Kwarimi the first time?'

"I will save you, Sakura-san!" The sudden shout drew everyone's attention to a spinning green thing. He knocked the Oto genin away from her like flies, but Sakura had to resist punching the bowl-cut weirdo.

'He was just trying to help,' Sakura mentally chanted as she tried to keep a hold on her fist. She spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm fine, Lee. I put myself in between them so I could finish them off." It was then that Lee noticed that the Oto genin were heavily injured whereas Sakura was untouched. A very awkward silence ensued, and eventually ended when Lee fell to his knees and grabbed Sakura's leg.

"I'm so sorry!" He was sobbing on her dreave. "I was only trying to help you!" As fast as he had began crying, he was finished and standing several feet in front of her. Sakura kept looking down from her leg to where he was now.

'How'd he do that?'

"I shall make up for my most unyouthful error by finishing them for you! If I fail I will do one thousand laps around the forest! Rest your pretty head, my spring time blossom!" Sakura's sweat drop was starting to throw her off balance with its sheer enormity. Once the sweat drop finally faded, Sakura dashed back to her teammates to check up on them.

To say that the Oto genin were confused would be a bit of an understatement. Like saying that Naruto shouldn't be allowed to consume caffeine. Zaku was the first out of their group stupor. With a short growl, Zaku readied his jutsu. "Zankuu-!" Lee was gone in a blur before Zaku even finished saying the attack. It only took one strike from Lee to push Zaku past that thin line into unconsciousness. Dosu swung a punch at the very strange Konoha genin, but he had forgotten the damage Sakura had caused his gadget earlier. The backlash stunned both him and Kin, leaving them all too vulnerable. Lee blinked as he wondered what just happened, but decided to go with it.

"Konoha Senpuu!" He slammed both genin into trees, finishing them off. Once he was sure they were out, he was by Sakura's side almost instantaneously, startling the kunoichi.

"Sorry, Lee-san," she apologized as she withdrew her fist from his face.

"I am okay, Sakura-san," he replied, a little woozy. "I am the Handsome Green Beast of Konoha!" He fell on his butt and stared at the sky. " Look, stars…" Sakura placed her hands on Lee's head, and a faint glow began to emanate from them.

"Feeling better?" she asked as she withdrew her hands. Lee nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, Sakura-san! I feel as if I could out run Kami-sama himself!" Sakura's eye twitched as she forced a smile.

"Oh…um, good for you."

"Lee, what's going on?" Neji and Tenten descended from the trees. Lee stood back up and faced his teammate.

"I was protecting Sakura-san!" Neji had to resist hitting himself.

"Lee, she is our enemy in these exams." Lee looked mortified at the very thought.

"She is not my enemy! She is my springtime blossom of youth and beauty and-"

"We get it, Lee," Neji interrupted him. Neji changed his pale gaze to Sakura. "Oh well. Fighting one weak kunoichi is below the honor of a Hyuuga, anyway." Sakura's fist twitched at the 'weak' comment, but she kept quiet. Lee, however, did not.

"She is not weak! When I got here, she was exploding with youth and defeating her _three_ foes!" Neji raised his eyebrow. He knew Lee wasn't lying, because quite frankly he didn't think Lee was smart enough to lie.

"Then perhaps her scroll is worth taking." Lee's jaw dropped as he realized his error.

"Eh…No! Three on one is wrong!"

"I suppose you have a point. It is still below me to fight a weakened adversary. Come one, Lee." With that Neji disappeared back into the treetops. Lee flashed his ridiculously shiny teeth at Sakura before vanishing into the canopy as well. Tenten spoke to Sakura before leaving as well.

"Boys, what'll you do?" Sakura smiled back at the retreating kunoichi and nodded.

"I'd appreciated your help, Sakura-chan." Naruto's strained voice made Sakura jumped.

"Naruto, are you-" she stopped as she noticed her blond teammate hovering above Sasuke, using his navy chakra to contain some sort of dark purple chakra emanating from Sasuke's body. "What's going on?"

"Hold him down so I can stop this seal from doing whatever the Hell its doing!" Sakura nodded and complied, as it wasn't often her teammate took a harsh tone with her or anyone for that matter. She grabbed the slightly struggling Uchiha by the arms and held him down, allowing Naruto to move over to his neck. Naruto pricked his pointer finger on his canine and smeared the blood around the Cursed Seal in a circle. He then smeared the blood across his thumb and middle finger as well.

"Sangyo Fuuin no Bijuu (Three-part Seal of the Tailed Beasts)!" Naruto slammed his three blood fingers on each of the dots of the Cursed Seal. The purple chakra died down and Sasuke's body stopped moving. There was a moment of deep breaths before Sasuke's eyes blinked open.

"What happened?" Sakura nearly cried with relief and encased Sasuke in a bone-crushing hug. "Hurgh!" Naruto burst out in laughter and was rolling across the floor clutching his sides by the time Sasuke pried himself free. Once Naruto finally stopped laughing and Sasuke caught his breath, the seriousness returned.

"What'd that psycho do to us?" Sasuke touched the back of his neck tentatively, and felt Naruto's dried blood. "You sealed it off? What about yours?"

"Thing's a virus seal of the hook variety. Basically, I overpowered it and over willed it. Now let me try something." Naruto closed his eyes, and slowly his navy chakra surrounded him and took the shape of a fox with one tail around his body. He only held it for a moment, long enough for both his teammates to gasp, before he dispelled the chakra. His grin could have out shined the sun. "Whatever it was, beating it got me the first tail." Naruto did his victory dance. "Chuunin rank here I come!" Sasuke smirked.

"Well, congrats to you, dobe. Now why didn't you get rid of mine?" Naruto stopped dancing.

"I told you, it's a hook seal." Both his teammates stared blankly at him, and Naruto was reminded that this was the one category where he _wasn't_ the idiot. "How to explain this…well, hook seals are seals that are bound in more than just your chakra. They also bite into something else. It can be anything, though judging by the chakra you were emitting, it probably bit into the whole grudge and emo thing you've got. Even I can't get rid of those yet." Sasuke ignored the emo comment; he was too busy remembering the dream the seal had given him.

"About a month ago that thing would've overpowered me." Naruto nodded with his best sage expression on. Any less serious a discussion and it would have made even Sasuke laugh.

"Can't you be serious for more than one minute, Naruto?" Sakura scolded her teammate. "I swear, sometimes I think Kyuubi is making you _more_ childish!"

"Fur ball-san says, 'Up yours'." Naruto paused. "He also says, 'Up yours too, kit' and 'Aw Hell, while I'm at it, up yours too, Uchiha. You'll probably deserve it sooner or later'." Sakura started giggling, but Sasuke stood up.

"Enough silliness for now. I presume you took care of these guys Sakura?" Sasuke jerked his head at the still downed Oto genin. Sakura nodded slightly, but also had a sweat drop just from the memories.

"I'll tell you guys about it on the way to the tower."

"Yeah, then we can have Himaru-sensei get rid of that thing for good!" Team 7 shot back into the canopy. A few minutes passed before Ino and her team came slowly out of the bushes.

"Should we take the Oto genin's scroll?" Shikamaru asked. "It'd save us a lot of trouble."



Team 7 had assumed fighting stances before Kabuto even came out in the open. "Relax," he said, waving his hands and smiling. "I'm not here to fight. I just got separated from my team." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the older genin.

"If you're not here to fight, then we have no quarrel. Naruto, get some pants on, we're going." Naruto shrugged and went to the riverside to retrieve his outer clothes. It sure was easier to take the bandages off then to put them back on.

"Don't suppose you'd like to travel together to the tower, then?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the other genin. Kabuto didn't give off the air of a coward.

"I suppose we owe you for the information earlier. You can come, but first answer me this." Kabuto nodded. "Why have you been following us?" A half-sigh, half-chuckle escaped Kabuto's lips.

"Just curious."

"He's telling the truth," Naruto confirmed as he pulled his orange shirt over his head. Sasuke gave the barest of nods before vanishing back into the branches. The rest of Team 7 followed his lead and kept a brisk pace, and every step they took confirmed Sasuke's theory.

'What's Kabuto hiding?'

**What'd you think? Did anyone see my foreshadowing in this chapter? Bet you didn't expect Naruto's little twist on the Cursed Seal! Well, enough yapping. Please read and review! Flamers will be throwing into my den of dragons, and I don't even want to think about that, so just don't. Constructive criticism, however, is welcome.**


	12. The Preliminaries Start Now

**The preliminaries are finally here! I will have a flash back to when Naruto met Kyuubi, but it probably won't be for another chapter or two. Sorry. I kind of decided to skip the whole being introduced to the preliminaries thing, because nothing really changed except Sakura wasn't as worried about the seal as in the manga.**

Naruto could barely contain himself as the final genin made their way up to the stands. Unlike most of the competitors, Naruto was all too happy to have an extra fight. "**That's my kit, show these mortals what a fox can do!"** Kyuubi's loud voice rang through Naruto's head and lengthened Naruto's already considerable grin.

'No problem's there. I just hope I don't have to fight anyone tough until we have a bigger audience!'

"Stop jumping, Naruto," Sasuke reprimanded his teammate. "They're about to call t he first match." Naruto mumbled something under his breath, but stopped when the screen started rolling.

"YOROI AKADO VS SASUKE UCHIHA." Sasuke smirked.

"Guess I'm first."

"Lucky bastard," Naruto mumbled.

"**Best for last, Kit.**" Another grin came to Naruto's face, but Sakura darkened his mood slightly.

"Himaru-sensei, are you _sure_ the seal can wait?" Sakura turned to her relaxing teacher. Himaru brushed the hair out of his eyes and nodded.

"Naruto did a pretty good job, and Sasuke's a strong one. It'll take more than that to bring him down." Sasuke was already facing his opponent by the time Himaru finished.

"Are you both (cough) ready?" Hayate asked and gave each combatant a glance.

"Fine with me," Sasuke replied.

"I have no complaints," Yoroi replied.

"(Cough) then begin!" A smile came to the disguised Orochimaru's lips as Yoroi charged Sasuke.

'Yoroi's unique abilities will be quite the problem for you, Sasuke-kun.' The Snake crafty eyes shifted to look at his Cursed Seal, but only saw blood red. A frown came to the Sannin's face. 'How troubling.'

Sasuke easily sidestepped Yoroi's glowing hand and then grabbed his arm. "I don't know what that glow is, but I won't find out!" Yoroi barely had time to register the sentence before a searing pain shot up his arm. Sasuke dropped the miss-angled appendage and smoothly ducked Yoroi's left hand. "Stubborn, aren't you?" Sasuke blurred out of existence, and blood spurted from all over Yoroi's body an instant before Sasuke reappeared behind him.

"Chitsume no Mai (One Thousand Claw Dance)." Sasuke sheathed his crimson blade as Yoroi fell to the ground, just shy of death.

"T-that sword…" Lee and Neji both looked at an awestruck Tenten.

"What is the matter, Tenten?" Lee asked, his voice somehow loud and quiet at the same time.

"N-nothing."

Sasuke was up the stairs and by his team by the time Yoroi was taken away for treatment. "Show off," Naruto whispered, but Sasuke leaned in and whispered right back.

"We'll be lucky if you don't stretched your match out to an hour." Naruto stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha and Himaru grabbed it.

"Don't be so crude," Himaru said and shoved Naruto's tongue back into his mouth. "Now come on, Sasuke, I'm going to finish off that seal."

"What? I need to stay to watch the matches." Himaru leaned down to face his pupil.

"Naruto and Sakura can give you the play-by-play, now come on! Do you know how hard it was to convince them to wait this long?" With a grunt, Sasuke reluctantly let Himaru teleport them both away.



"I don't know who you are, but I wouldn't do that if I were you." Himaru sighed and pushed his bangs out of his eyes at Orochimaru's voice. He slowly let the hand that was above Sasuke's seal fall limp.

"Stay behind me, Sasuke."

"But-"

"Just do it!" Sasuke grumbled, but of all the adults in Konoha, Himaru was probably the only one he respected enough to obey. Orochimaru smirked and started to walk closer towards Himaru and Sasuke.

"I would appreciate it if you stand aside. I have no interest in you."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Orochi." Orochimaru stopped in mid step.

"Pardon?" This time, Himaru smirked.

"You heard me, you eight-headed buffoon." 'Orochimaru's' eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?" 'Orochimaru's' voice changed to a demonic hiss. A laugh escaped Himaru's lips, while Sasuke was just plain baffled.

"Orochimaru is too smart to do what you've done." An angry hiss emanated from Orochi's mouth. "The experiments, the betrayal, all of it is jus too stupid for him. Only two snake demons could over power Orochimaru's will, and Hachibi is in a little kid." Orochi still smiled.

"Than you know you've got no chance against me." A very creep smile made its way to Himaru's lips.

"It's true that in this form I have no hope of defeating you on my own, however…" Black chakra started to surround Himaru, and horrifying amounts of killer intent filled the room

"Impossible!" Orochi hissed as the room was encompassed in black chakra.



"Jeez, everyone in these exams are weirdoes!" Naruto exclaimed as the third match ended with Kankouro as the victor.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, Naruto," Sakura teased him. Naruto scowled playfully at Sakura in response before turning to the board. "Be me, be me, be me…Aw."

"What's the matter, Naru-" Sakura gasped at the names.

"SAKURA HARUNO VS INO YAMANAKA." Sakura barely felt Naruto patting her on the back before she descended down the stairs. As she made her way to the center of the room, a fiery determination set in her eyes.

"Begin (cough)!"

"Are you ready, Ino-pig?" Ino clenched her fist at the nickname.

"I'm bringing you down, Billboard-Brow! And then Sasuke-kun will be all mine!" Sakura almost felt pity for her rival.

"That's not going to happen, Ino. We've already gone out." Ino turned blood red all over in rage, but it was washed away when Sakura adjusted her hitai-ate so it was on her forehead. "But despite that, and despite all my training, I won't consider myself a true kunoichi until I beat you!" An uneasy smirk came to Ino's face as she adjusted her own hitai-ate.

"Bring it on, Sakura!"

"Ino's gonna get hurt, huh?" Chouji stated more than asked his lazy teammate. Shikamaru's reply was only a sigh and a mumble of 'troublesome'.

Back on the floor, Sakura made the first move, her fist connecting with Ino's stomach. A hoarse gasp came from Ino's throat as she was lifted into the air by the sheer force of the blow. She soared into the air, and Sakura jumped to join her. "Fight me, Ino-pig!" Still in mid-air, Sakura raised her leg high into the air for an axe kick. Her foot completely shattered the log Ino replaced herself with, and the other kunoichi was safe for the moment.

"You've left yourself open!" Ino threw several kunai at the still airborne kunoichi, and then started looking around for where Sakura must have kwarimi'ed herself.

"Ino, look out!" Chouji's shout brought Ino's attention skyward. Sakura was coming down like a meteor; the kunai that had been thrown at her lay dented on the floor. Ino barely dodged Sakura's fist in time, but the floor wasn't so lucky. A web of giant crack spread out across the floor and the point of impact was now a small crater.

"No way…" Ino was almost too shocked to move as Sakura withdrew her fist and came closer towards her. The blonde kunoichi's shock soon turned to rage and her fists and teeth clenched. "How? How can you be so strong?" Sakura frowned at her old friend.

"Its called training, Ino." Ino's whole body shook with rage, and she thought she saw Sakura glance condescendingly at her ponytail.

"You think you're better than me?" Sakura could only stare in confusion as Ino sliced off her ponytail and threw the strands to the ground. "See, I don't need it either!"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Sakura asked, genuinely perplexed. Her confusion practically sky rocketed when Ino prepared her mind transfer technique. "You're crazy."

"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Technique)!" Ino's body slumped to the floor, but when Sakura tried to move, she was stuck. "Got you." Ino's voice was back to being cheerful and cocky.

"You're using your hair as a restraint with your chakra." Ino deflated when Sakura explained her plan, but not by much.

"So you know how I did it, that won't help you! I'm going to take you over and make you surrender!"

"You're not the only one who knows jutsu, Ino." Said kunoichi actually seemed shocked by the prospect, and her shock turned to distress when one of Sakura gauntlets glowed with green energy. "Bara Kei (Rose Whip)!" A green blur shot out of Sakura's gauntlet and slammed into Ino, sending her into a wall and into darkness. The hair chain fell limp around Sakura's feet, and Hayate declared her the winner.

"Good job, Sakura-chan!" Sakura smiled at her blond teammate and put her forehead protector back to its original position. Her lips curled into the barest of frowns as Ino was carried up the stairs by her teammates.

"Sorry, Ino…" Naruto tilted his head at Sakura. Even after a month of team training, he still didn't get girls, and didn't think he ever would. If he and Sasuke knocked the other out during a fight, they'd just have bragging rights until the next match came along.



"Hokage-sama." Sarutobi's brow furrowed at Himaru's voice. He didn't like it when there were people who could sneak up on him. The Hokage turned to look at the jounin, and barely held in a gasp. Himaru was bleeding from his mouth, and his left arm was bloodied and limp, just hanging there by his side.

"What happened?" Sarutobi demanded quietly. Himaru smiled back at the Hokage, despite the obvious pain he was in.

"I have a surprise for you." Himaru's voice sounded almost…sing-songie? Before the Hokage could ask further, Himaru turned to Anko, who hadn't stopped looking at the current match between the Suna kunoichi and the Konoha Kunoichi. "Mitarashi-san, correct? You might want to come to." Himaru teleported away, but left a clear chakra trail for the Hokage and Anko to follow.

"Hey."

"Sure took ya' Sasuke-teme," Naruto said with a grin as Sasuke came up to them.

"Did Himaru-sensei get rid of it?" Sasuke nodded and pulled his shirt aside to show that there was no seal.

"Have I got a story to tell you two after this is over. So, what'd I miss?"

Naruto was quick to tell him, "You missed Sakura-chan's totally awesome match where she totally owned Ino!"

"Sorry I missed it." Sasuke gave Sakura a quick hug, and even now it nearly turned her to jelly. "At least I get to see Naruto's."

"NARUTO UZUMAKI VS KIBA INUZUKA."

"Its finally my turn!" Naruto practically threw himself off the watching area to the floor.

"We hit the jackpot, Akamaru!" Kiba howled. "We get to fight Naruto!" Surprisingly, Akamaru didn't yip in agreement.

"Kiba, wait." The dog ninja froze on his perch. "Be careful. My bugs say that Naruto is different. Just being near him made the Kikai bugs go crazy." Kiba shrugged it off

"Tch. It's just the Dead Last." Kiba smoothly landed on the floor, and made it a point to beat Naruto to the center of the room.

"Be (cough) gin!"

"You have the first move, Dog Breath," Naruto said and put his hands behind his back.

"Think you're so tough." Kiba sneered. "Just stay here, Akamaru. I'll finish this with one blow." Kiba quickly ran through some hand seals and then fell on all fours. His new more bestial features stretched into a fanged grin. "Here I come!" Kiba came at Naruto like a missile and slammed his elbow into the other boy's gut. There was an awkward silence when Naruto didn't even flinch.

"I don't swing that way, Kiba." Said ninja gritted his teeth and leapt back.

"Cocky bastard!" Kiba swung his clawed fist at Naruto's head. Once again, Naruto didn't even flinch when the blow connected. A smirk came to Naruto's face and he raised an eyebrow at Kiba.

"I'm starting to think these are actually your attacks." Kiba let out something between a growl and a roar and began throwing punch after punch at Naruto. Each time his fists connected, but also each time Naruto seemed to barely notice.

"You hit about as hard as Sakura-chan sneezes," Naruto said, and suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea. "I got it! I won't move from this spot until you throw something at me that hurts!" Kiba turned red and began pounding Naruto with kicks and punches, but nothing was working, and after a couple of seconds Naruto started laughing. "You're starting to tickle me!" Kiba stopped his useless barrage and leapt back farther.

"Okay, Akamaru, let's show the Dead Last his place!" Kiba popped a soldier pill into Akamaru's mouth, and the dog's fur turned blood red. "Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu (Beast-Man Clone Technique)!" Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba, and each Kiba took to a different side of Naruto. "Gatsuuga (Fang-Over-Fang)!" Twin cyclones launched themselves at Naruto. To everyone's shock, the fox boy looked disappointed.

"How pathetic." Naruto lifted both of his arms up and halted the two attacks with his palms. Naruto's arms bunched up under the pressure, but he held the attacks in place. With a smirk, Naruto leaned back, his feet didn't leave the spot, and he let the attacks go, sending both of them in opposite directions and into the walls with a loud 'thump'. Kiba quickly got to his feet and charged Naruto, just plain desperate. The blonde shinobi didn't realize where Kiba's foot was aimed until it was too late. There was another awkward silence as Kiba withdrew his foot from Naruto…Ahem.

"That hurt!" Kiba didn't have time to gloat before Naruto grabbed him by the face and slammed into a wall, creating a web of crack behind the dog ninja. With a single kick, Naruto sent Kiba into the air without letting go of his face. "Juukusari no Mai (Beast Chain Dance)!" Naruto struck Kiba with blow after blow while they were still in mid air. The poor dog ninja was thrown around like a rag doll without Naruto ever letting go of him.

"I thought Naruto was supposed to be an idiot," Kurenai said under her breath. "What did Himaru do to him?"

'Naruto-kun…' Hinata was shocked more than anyone. Naruto looked like a beast as he propelled Kiba around the arena with nothing but mid air taijutsu.

"And now for the coup de grace!" Naruto finally finished his monstrous combo with an axe kick that sent Kiba crashing into the ground and out like a light. Hayate declared Naruto the winner as the blond shinobi stormed back up to his team.

"That's what you get for taunting your enemies," Sakura said, and Naruto pouted at her.

"But that was just mean!"

"N-N-Naruto-k-kun." Hinata slowly approached Naruto, a strange little box in her hand. "I-I brought you s-some healing s-salve. F-for you h-hands." Naruto blinked in confusion and then stared at his hands. He pouted at the ripped bandages.

"It takes forever to change these things," he grumbled.

"**Kit, hot chick talking to you!**" Naruto mostly ignored the Kyuubi, but it did bring him back it Hinata.

"Thanks, Hinata, but my hands are fine, see?" Naruto showed her his hands, but unlike the bandages, they were unscathed.

"O-oh." Hinata had to mentally reprimand herself when she almost wished Naruto had been hurt just so he could use her salve.

"But can I have some for later?" Hinata nodded rapidly and handed him the box. "Thanks, Hinata!" The Hyuuga froze as Naruto hugged her briefly before pocketing the salve.

**That took me awhile. Anyway, how was this chapter? And why has no one noticed Naruto's chakra? Human chakra is light blue, Kyuubi's is red, but Naruto's is navy, which by the way, means a blue so dark it's almost black! **


	13. Flashbacks and Summons

**All hail the time saving flashbacks.**

Naruto was pissed. No, that was putting it too mildly. Naruto wanted to _kill _something. Preferably one Neji Hyuuga. The memory of that match made itself known as he mercilessly pounded the poor training dummy.

Flashback:

_Hinata spat out blood as Neji struck her in the heart as she made her final charge. No amount of cheering from Naruto could save her now. Naruto barely made out the words Hinata said before Neji charged her in rage. "No Nissan… you are the one caught in the pain and destiny of the Hyuuga." The blond's rage was almost tangible when Neji tried to attack even though the match had been called. He arrived before the jounin, all of them frozen to the spot when they felt a very familiar killing intent. A stunned silence filled the crowd as Neji's palm was flat against Naruto's chest, but the blond didn't even flinch._

_"You have three seconds to piss off." Even Neji felt fear immobilize him as se stared into Naruto's glowing and…slit blue eyes. Sakura was already by Hinata's side before the medic team arrived, and she was doing her best for Hinata. Naruto sent one last wave of killing intent at Neji before walking to Hinata's side and scooping some of her blood in his hands. He turned to face Neji once again, holding up his bloodied hand._

_"Neji Hyuuga, I swear to you that I will crush you like the rat you are next we meet."_

End Flashback.

And then there was the match with Lee against Gaara. Naruto still couldn't believe that Gai didn't jump in to save Lee after the Ura Renge failed.

Flashback:

_ Lee's eyes widened in terror as the sand shot forth to consume his body. He tried to get away, but even he knew it was over when he felt the sand start to run up his arm and leg. He waited for the pain, but instead he felt a burst of chakra and then arms stopping him from falling to the ground. There, in front of him, stood Naruto and Sasuke combining their chakra to fend of the sand. "Are you okay, Lee-san?" Lee could barely believe it._

_"Sakura-san?" Sakura was holding him, and a green light was emanating from her hands. Lee tried to grin and tell her that he was fine, but he winced when he tried to speak._

_"Why did you save him? He failed." Gaara's hiss of a voice barely reached Lee's ears. Naruto's however, didn't have that problem._

_"Bushy-brows is our comrade. Our friend."_

End Flashback.

A chuckled escaped Naruto's lips as he remembered how Lee had promised to run one thousand laps around Konoha to prove himself, and then how Sakura had knocked him out in order to stop him. The chuckled quickly ended and was replaced by a shudder as he remembered how Gai had somehow managed to pull all of their team into a forceful embrace and then cried on them, blubbering about gratitude and the flame of youth.

"Jeez, what'd the dummy do to you, Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he hopped down from a tree. Naruto blinked curiously at his teammate before turned and looking at the more or less mauled remains of the training dummy.

"Whoops…" Sasuke half-sighed and half chuckled at the blond.

"Come on, dobe. Himaru-sensei wants to meet us at the bridge." Naruto nodded, and could barely contain his excitement. A whole month for training! The genin vanished into the trees of the woods.

'**Watch out for the sand boy, Kit.**'

'Gee, you think?' He felt Kyuubi growl in his mind.

'**I believe he holds Ichibi.**' Naruto nearly fell out of the trees.

'That would've been nice to know earlier!'

'**It took me a moment to bring myself to admit it.**' Naruto quirked an eyebrow. '**I'll explain later, Kit.**' Naruto frowned at the answer, but let it slide for the moment.

'So there are other's who hold demons too…'

Flashback:

_Naruto had never been happier in his life. He could barely even move, and he smelled of sweat and blood, but he was happy. Himaru-sensei was teaching them all such cool jutsu, and he even got to fight some low- level oni._

_'**Did you enjoy the hunt, Kit?**' Naruto's heart nearly stopped._

_"K-Kyuubi?"_

_'**So Karite has taught you well.**'_

_'Karite? Wait, why are you talking to me!'_

_'**You've even figured out you only need to think to communicate. Much improvement.**' _

_'Are you calling me an idiot?'_

_'**I'm saying you're less of an idiot than you used to be.**'_

_'You've been living in my body and making my life Hell, and now you're mocking me? If you were here I'd rip out each one of your damned tails!' Naruto could feel Kyuubi smirk._

_'**To threaten me like that…you've got guts, Kit. You'll make a fine demon.**' _

_'Wait, what!' There was no reply. 'Come back here you damned fox!'_

End Flashback.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the memory. Figuring out that he was slowly merging with Kyuubi had been a bit freaky. But it was also AWESOME! Naruto was brought out of his thoughts as he ran out of tree branched and plummeted to the ground. "Ouch…" Sasuke shook his head.

"Dobe."

"What took you guys so long?" Sakura said from her spot on the bridge, making her presence known.

"Took me awhile to find Naruto."

"Oh, sure. Blame me," Naruto said as he wiped the dirt off of his clothes.

"I'm good with that." Naruto flipped off his black-haired teammate.

"Psst!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked and the trio looked from side to side.

"Under here!" They recognized Himaru's voice and looked underneath the bridge. Sure enough, their sensei was clinging to the bottom of the construction with his chakra.

"What are you-"

"Just get under here!" Himaru interrupted Sakura, and with a shrug from Naruto, they followed their sensei's lead and stuck to the bottom of the bridge.

"Why are we meeting _under _the bridge?" Sakura asked her very on edge sensei.

"Oh, no reason. Just thought it'd be a nice change of pace." The genin didn't buy it, but left if alone for now.

"Sasuke said you have black chakra and used it to fight this weird demon-possessed snake guy. Naruto, always to the point. Himaru's mood turned serious, though he still let his eyes wander, as if waiting for something.

"I figured I'd have to tell you this eventually. Well, as you probably guessed from my whole 'start a new village thing', my childhood sucked ass. But the reason for it was actually very similar to Naruto's."

"You have a demon sealed inside of you?" Himaru shook his head.

"Now. Well, first off, my real name is Karite, and I am the half-human son of the Shinigami." All three genin fell into the water. Himaru waited for his now soggy team to resituate themselves before continuing. "People not only saw me as different, but the few who knew my real secret hated me as an incarnation of the thing they feared most. I've noticed in the past few years that my situation was not unique. Not unique by far. So I've been planning for awhile now."

"So what about our training?" Everyone but Naruto fell into the river this time. Himaru's head bobbed above the water, and he laughed, despite the fact that his bangs were plastered against his eyes.

"Good old Naruto. Well, I want you all to find summoning contracts." The three of them looked at their sensei, utterly bewildered. "What? All good ninja should have summons. I do."

"Really? Can you show us?" Naruto somehow managed to hop in excitement even when hanging upside down.

"Ehhh, this might not be the best place. My summons are a tad…noticeable." This of course only made the young ninjas want to know what he summoned more. Himaru, or Karite, sighed and wiped the hair out of his eyes. "Look, I-" Karite stopped talking suddenly, and his eyes bugged out. "I got to go. Once you find your contracts, hunt me down. Oh, and don't call me Karite in public. Bye!" In a puff of smoke, their teacher was gone.

"That's odd," Sakura said, a frown adorned her features.

"I think I know what the problem is," Sasuke said. A hint of amusement found its way into his voice. "If I know his body language correctly than he's…" Sakura and Naruto leaned closer to Sasuke. "…Being chased by a very scary fan girl." Both Sakura and Naruto face-faulted right into the river.

"You brats seen your sensei?" They all turned at a certain proctor's voice. Anko just stared back expectantly. "Well?" After a brief pause, they slowly shook their heads from side to side. Anko's eyes narrowed at them. "I don't believe you." The members of Team 7 were off like lightning in three completely different directions before she even finished the sentence. "Damn."



Naruto finally skidded to a halt by the springs. "That lady's scary." As the blond shinobi caught his breath, he heard the sound of giggling behind the women's bath. Male giggling. Naruto caught himself scowling. "A pervert." He quietly sneaked behind the spring, and sure enough he spied a white-haired old man peeking into the bathhouse. A wicked grin suddenly spread across Naruto's face.

'**Oh, you're evil, Kit.**'Without another thought, Naruto began to put his plan to work. First, he took an explosive note and crumpled it into a small ball and then rested it on his thumb. He flicked the little wad of deadly paper to the old man's feet. He saw the man blink in confusion when he felt the paper hit him, and as soon as he looked down, Naruto activated the note. A loud explosion occurred, and was quickly followed by lots of screaming and the very familiar sound of women beating the tar out of you. He waited until the noised died down before peeking around the corner to check on the old man. He burst out laughing at the pervert's broken form and fell to the ground, clutching his sides.

"You're the one who three the explosive note!" Naruto had to blink to clear away the tears of laughter. The pervert sure recovered fast. Guess he was a ninja.

"Serves you right, you old pervert!"

"Insolent brat!" The sound of firecrackers made its way to Naruto's ears as the very strange man performed some sort of dance. "I am the great Toad Mountain Sage, Jiraiya!"

"So you have a summoning contract?" As Jiraiya nodded proudly, Naruto suddenly regretted his prank. "I don't suppose you'd let me sign it, huh?" This time, the pervert burst out laughing.

"Of course not, a measly little shrimp like you isn't worth my time!" That was a bad idea. Naruto wasn't short anymore, but he was still a wee bit sensitive of his height.

"What'd you say?" Naruto clapped his hands together into seals, snapping the sage out of his laughter. "Oiroke no Jutsu!" Jiraiya's defensive stance was pretty much crushed at the mere sight of the jutsu.

"Hub-bu-bu-hub-bu-bu…"

"Please give me your contract, Jiraiya-sama," Naruto said in the sexiest female voice he could muster.

"You're a genius! What do you call this technique?" Naruto's eye twitched. The old pervert hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"The Oiroke no Jutsu." As he spoke, another idea popped into Naruto's head. "I'll teach it to you in exchange for the contract." For a moment, it looked as though the Toad Sannin was about to agree, but then realization hit him like a truck.

"Pfft. It's just a Henge." Jiraiya's disappointment was almost tangible. Surprisingly, Naruto smirked.

"I could make it real." Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at the boy.

"It's not wise to lie to me, boy." Naruto's smirk turned into a grin.

"Don't you know? Foxes can shape shift." Jiraiya, for the first time in awhile, was truly shocked. The boy knew…? Meanwhile, Naruto dispelled his own Henge and started walking towards a tree.

"This'll do." Naruto plucked a leaf from the tree and formed to hand seals while holding the leaf: monkey, rock. Jiraiya wished he _didn't_ recognize the last one: an upside down boar seal. Naruto placed the leaf onto the tree. "Shinsei Henge no Jutsu (True Transformation Technique)!" The tree turned into a female Naruto with green hair. The blond Jinchuriki turned to face the stunned sage, and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm still working out the-" Jiraiya was already behind him and feeling up the unmoving body before Naruto even finished. "Pervert…Well, how about it?" Jiraiya was practically salivating.

"Oh yes…"



"Okay, give the contract, Ero-sennin!" Jiraiya's eye twitched at the nickname.

"First, teach me how to truly transform things." Naruto mumbled something about perverts before speaking loudly enough for anyone to hear. 'I'm probably going to save several women this way.' "It's pretty simple, you merely have to channel chakra into a leaf while performing the seals for monkey and rock."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Jiraiya knew, he wasn't a sage for nothing after all, but he wanted to see if Naruto knew exactly what it was. Said blond looked confused for a moment before the answer hit him. Naruto smacked himself.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You don't know any demon seals, do you?" He didn't show it on the outside, but internally, Jiraiya was concerned about the fact that Naruto knew that he was using demonic abilities. Jiraiya decided to talk to the old man about it later, but first…

"Give me the contract or I'll mentally scar you for life." Jiraiya seemed amused by the threat.

"Oh really." With a sigh, Naruto quickly performed some hand seals, making sure the old sage didn't see them. He placed his pointer and middle fingers on top of Jiraiya's head since his forehead was covered.

"Oiroke Omoi no Jutsu (Sexy Thought Technique!" A second passed before Jiraiya fell to the ground and convulsed, all the while a perverted grin on his face. Naruto sighed again as he sat down. "Well, looks like I have a good five minutes to blow."



"Now imagine that reversed," Naruto said as soon as Jiraiya attained consciousness. Said Sannin's smile all but evaporated.

"Right then, on with the summoning!" With a shout, Jiraiya summoned a toad who then rolled out a scroll on his tongue. Naruto barely waited for the tongue to unroll completely before grabbing the scroll and opening it.

"Just sign your name in blood and then leave your finger prints in blood at the bottom." Naruto quickly, obeyed, and it took several bites to keep the blood flowing.

"This'd be a lot easier if I knew how to control this," Naruto mumbled as he bit his thumb for the fourth time. Jiraiya observed the boy as he struggled in writing his name in blood.

'Interesting. I thought the Kyuubi only healed him when he had serious wounds. Another thing to talk with Sensei about. Oh Arashi, I hope the Kyuubi isn't tainting your legacy.'

"Done!" Naruto's shout startled Jiraiya out of his thoughts. "Now what?" Jiraiya showed him the hand seals and Naruto tired it out almost immediately.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" With a poof of smoke, a small toad appeared.

"I want candy. I'm not gonna play if don't have candy." While Naruto searched his pockets for candy, Jiraiya grappled with two thoughts. One: the boy not only summoned an actual toad on his first try, but a talking one! Second: he wasn't startled by the fact that it could talk.

"Found one!" Naruto chimed as he pulled a mint out of his pocket. He handed it to the brightly colored toad. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?" The small toad popped the candy into his mouth.

"I'm Gamakichi. I like you, Nissan." Gamakichi turned to face the still slightly stunned Jiraiya. "You're that pervert that Otousan doesn't like." As Jiraiya realized that it was Gamabunta's son they were dealing with, Naruto burst out laughing.

"Even his own summon thinks Ero-sennin's a pervert! That's gold!" Both boy and toad laughed their hearts out.

"I really like you, Nissan! I'm gonna go tell Otousan about you!" With that, the small toad disappeared.

"See ya, Gamakichi!" Naruto waved to the air before turning to walk away. "See ya, Ero-sennin!"

"W-wait!" Naruto stopped in mid step. "Don't you want some more training?" Naruto turned and faced the Sannin.

"I have a sensei." Naruto sweat dropped as the sound of firecrackers filled the air again, and Jiraiya started dancing.

"Yes, but I am the Great Toad Sannin! One of the tree legendary ninja of Konohagakure no Sato!" Naruto paused for a bit and thought. On one hand, Ero-sennin could probably teach him some cool things. On the other hand, Himaru said to track him down after he got a summoning contract. Seeing the boy's indecision, Jiraiya made another quick mental note on something to talk to the Hokage about. Whoever must be teaching this kid would have to be good to command this kind of respect.

'I promised Arashi I would train the boy at some point, and it looks like he might need help now most of all!' "I'll teach you how to beat the Hyuuga!" Of course, Jiraiya had no idea of the current grudge Naruto held against a certain white-eyed genius, but promising such power would sway any genin.

"Really?" Hook, line and sinker. Jiraiya had to resist smirking.

"Yes. With your natural chakra level, there's a way to beat the Hyuuga at what they prize most: taijutsu!"



Jiraiya bounded across the housetops. He still felt like patting himself on the back. Teaching the boy about water walking and then leaving a clone to watch him so he could have that much needed talk with Sarutobi was pure genius. Jiraiya felt a pang of sympathy for whatever poor Hyuuga Naruto obviously had his sights on. If he kept building and honing his chakra like that, he'll be able to render the Jyuuken useless. Jiraiya eventually made it to the imposing Hokage Tower and let himself in through a window.

"Hey, Sensei." A grin plastered itself on the old man's face.

"Jiraiya! It's nice to see you! I have a surprise for you!"

"No time, old man." Sarutobi blinked. Jiraiya rarely did business before pleasure. He supposed his surprise could wait. "I need to talk to you about Naruto." Yes, the surprise could definitely wait.

"Hold that thought, Jiraiya." Sarutobi reached for the summons bell before the door to his office was bashed open and then slammed shut in the same instant. A black blur launched itself underneath Sarutobi's desk. "Hi-"

"If you have any gratitude for what I did, stay quiet!" Himaru whispered back. There was only a second of stunned silenced before the door was bashed open again, this time by Anko.

"Hokage-sama!" The jounin briefly bowed to her leader. "Have you seen Himaru? I've been looking all over for him." To say Anko looked frustrated was as much of an understatement as saying that Jiraiya was straight.

"Er…I'm afraid not, Anko. Did you check by his team's meeting place?" She didn't' buy it, and it showed. Anko didn't make it to jounin by being stupid after all. However, she couldn't exactly order the Hokage to tell her where Himaru is, so with a resigned sigh, she left the room, but not before bowing and saying a few final words:

"If you do see him, Hokage-sama, please tell him that his 'thank-you' present is still available." A few moments after the badly beaten door was closed, Himaru crawled out from under the desk and stood up.

"Why are you running?" Jiraiya asked the very relieved ninja. Himaru brushed the hair out of his eyes before answering.

"Frankly, Jiraiya-sama, she scares me." The Sannin didn't look the least bit perturbed that Himaru knew him, after all, he was famous. Sarutobi coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Jiraiya, this is Himaru. Naruto's sensei."

**That took me awhile to finish. If anyone's wondering why Naruto so carelessly brought up the whole Kyuubi thing, please hear me out. One: Naruto's issues with that are very much dead. Two: Naruto knows that any ninja in the village knows about his secret, so he didn't see a point in hiding it. Anyway, flashbacks are wonderful, aren't they? Oh, and one more thing, for those of you concerned about Orochimaru becoming a good guy, that's both yes and no. Please read and review, and please tell me if I'm getting things wrong! My knowledge after Naruto's training with Jiraiya for the third exam is based almost entirely on fan fiction! Alas, I live the life of an American anime fan with a computer too crappy to download subtitled anime straight from Japan. T-T **


	14. Enter the Toad

**I'm really, REALLY, REALLY sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I rented a new game, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, and it was just so fun I had to play it until I beat it! I'm going to try to update at least once a week from now on. **

"Then are you the one who's been teaching Naruto demonic jutsu?" Himaru's lips crinkled into a slight frown, but Sarutobi looked completely flabbergasted.

"You've been doing WHAT!?" The old Hokage's anger was almost tangible, and Himaru raised up his hands in a submissive gesture.

"Hey, I told you I knew how to teach Naruto how to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

"Use his chakra? This is a different thing entirely! Doing such a thing could risk-"

"Kyuubi wouldn't take over Naruto even if he could." This time Jiraiya spoke.

"And what makes you so sure?" Himaru very calmly turned around and stared the older ninja straight in the eyes.

"Would you steal your child's body?" Now both legendary shinobi were flabbergasted.

"His child! What on Earth are you-" Himaru cut the Hokage off.

"Let me tell you a little something about demons: they aren't cold-blooded killers anymore than humans are, in fact, if anything they're _more_ emotional! You see demons _are_ emotion, and only the higher level ones have anything more than the most basic control of themselves. Thus, most demons are actually very parental." Himaru paused briefly, but the older warriors were still too shocked to speak properly. "Now think: Naruto is very much like a demon himself, and the Kyuubi has been within him and by him throughout every moment of his entire life. Do you not think a bond formed, even if on a subconscious level on Naruto's part?" Himaru felt a grin spread across his lips when the old men started to settle down.

"Sensei, whoever this guy is, Naruto respects him enough to nearly turn down training from me. I think we can trust him." Sarutobi took a long drag on his pipe.

Very well then. Himaru, in light of what you recently accomplished, I will let this slide."

"Thank-you, Hokage-sama." After Himaru finished bowing, he turned to face Jiraiya. "Don't you think you should tell Jiraiya about his teammate?" Jiraiya felt a sudden pang of dread hit him.

"What's Orochimaru done now?"

"He's…" Sarutobi paused, and let a heavy frown crease his lips. Jiraiya's sense of dread doubled. "…Been freed from the demon controlling him." Jiraiya barely registered the giant grins on the other two mans' faces in the room as the information sank in.

"Still a little slow, even after all these years, Jiraiya?"

"O-O-Orochimaru…" Jiraiya could hardly believe it. Before him stood his old teammate, once believed to be a traitor. Orochimaru smiled slightly at his old teammate's gawking face.

"What? Expected me to look young?" Orochimaru indeed looked his actual age. His hair had thing gray wisps in parts. His face had become less serpentine, thought it was still very angular and his eyes were still an amber color, but they were no longer slit. Jiraiya reached out a shaky hand and lightly touched his teammate on the shoulder, as if he was afraid that it was all a dream. In that same instant the touch turned to a man-hug, one that Orochimaru somewhat awkwardly returned. "Shape up, Jiraiya. We've got reputations to think about."

"It's really you!"



"Himaru-sensei!" Naruto's shout echoed across the whole village, and nearly deafened his nearby teammates.

"Baka! You trying to blow our ears off!?" Sakura firmly planted Naruto's face into the ground.

"Brim brorry Brakura-bran!"

"I think he's trying to apologize," Sasuke said as Sakura continued to grind Naruto's face into the ground.

"Oh. Okay then." Sakura released her vice-grip on Naruto's skull, and the previously flailing blond boy gasped for breath. For a moment the only sound at their meeting place was Naruto's frantic breathing.

"So where'd you guys get your summons?" Sasuke tapped his sword, and Sakura held up her gauntlets. Naruto pouted and scowled.

"That's no fair! I had to get one from a perverted old sage! I wish I had a stupid legendary weapon…"

"You do, Naruto, you just can't use it." The blond growled at Sasuke, but otherwise remained silent.

"Boo!" The trio whirled on their heels, fists at the ready, but it wasn't an enemy that faced them.

"Zabuza-sensei!" Naruto said and grinned at the large swordsman. You couldn't see it, but Zabuza smirked. All three of them looked pleased at the missing-nin's arrival, but Sakura kept sweeping the area with her eyes.

"Where's Haku-kun?" A chuckle escaped Zabuza's lips.

"Well, let's just say a couple young girls realized he was a boy." Naruto broke out in laughter, and Sakura giggled. Only Sasuke didn't seem to find it funny.

"Fan girls are scary."

"Indeed they are."

"Haku!" Naruto shouted and ran up to their friend who was just showing himself from behind a tree. Haku was garbed as a ninja, minus a hitai-ate or his mask.

"It's is good to see you too, Naruto-kun. I look forward to seeing you fight in the exam matches." Instead of the expected grin, Naruto's mouth set in a line of determination.

"I'm going to crush Neji." Haku raised an eyebrow at the others, but refrained from asking Naruto directly. He knew how…volatile the blond could be.

"So the gang's all here." Himaru teleported in the middle of the little gathering. He nodded at Zabuza and Haku in way of greeting before turning to his team. "I presume you all have contracts?" The three nodded. "Good. We need to discuss training, but first…" Himaru turned to focus on Naruto. "What'd I tell you about using demon jutsu in public?"

"Um…" Himaru sighed, the signal for Sakura to bash Naruto over the head.

"You're lucky I have a silver tongue, or else our plans would be severely hampered right now. Naruto, you've the makings of a legendary leader, but you need to be able to remember these kinds of things!" Naruto stared at his feet, but Himaru patted him on the head. "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose. I presume you have the toad contract?" Naruto nodded without much surprise. He wasn't a complete idiot anymore. Himaru clapped and backed up a little.

"Excellent! Now, just so I have everybody, list off your contracts."

"Dragons."

"Toads."

"Cats." Himaru nodded.

"Okay. You're each going to train with your summons for the rest of the month."

"What! But what about you, Himaru-sensei?" Naruto asked as he readied the puppy-dog eyes.

"We want to make a village, remember, I'm going to use the time to finish research on a good location, okay?" Naruto reluctantly withdrew the puppy eyes.

"Fine…"

"Good. Now, train hard, and I look forward to watching you kick some ass!" With a poof, Himaru was gone.

"I can help you train, Sakura-san. I like cats," Haku said.

"Thank-you Haku-kun."

"Always wanted to see a dragon," Zabuza said. "Besides, you still need a little work on your kenjutsu."

"What about me?" Naruto asked forlornly.

"You've got the toad sage. He can work with your summons the best," Zabuza said, and he patted Naruto on the head for condolence. "How about I teach you some water jutsu after you've trained with the frogs?" Naruto grinned and barely even nodded before he was off to find his perverted sensei.



"Didn't I tell you to keep water-walking?" Jiraiya said when the bouncy blond approached him.

"I want to practice summoning. It builds more chakra anyway, and Himaru-sensei said something about needing to train with the toads. So train me, Ero-sennin!"

"What a fitting nick name, Jiraiya." Naruto turned to the new voice.

"Eh? Who're you?"

**I'm sorry this is so short, but I'm just not feeling the creative juices right now. I'll update this weekend, I promise! Please read and review! P.S. My dragons won't eat flamers so long as they only flame me about taking so long to make this update.**


	15. Toads and Talks

**It's still technically Sunday, and why haven't I gotten a single review for the last chapter? I NEED them!**

"So you're the creepy snake guy that Himaru-sensei fixed?" Naruto asked once Jiraiya introduced his old teammate. Orochimaru's eye twitched at the 'creep snake guy' part, but nodded nonetheless, much to Jiraiya's amusement. Finally it was Orochimaru's turn to be teased.

"Ero-sennin? Yoo-hoo!" Naruto waved his hand in front of the old toad sage's face, attempting to break him away from his sudden trip down memory lane.

"Eh? Oh, right. You want to train with the toads, go summon the toad boss." Naruto stared blankly at him, and Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh. 'I suppose even this Himaru guy has his limits.' "Okay kid, let me explain. Each summoning contract has a sort of boss. The boss is the one who's in charge of the other summons, kind of like their Hokage. The boss, in the toad's case Gamabunta, also takes the most chakra to summon." It took a moment, but Naruto eventually nodded in understanding before running off.

"And remember, the boss is big!" Jiraiya sighed again; knowing his reminder had fallen on deaf ears.

"We better go stop him before he tries to summon Gamabunta on top of the Hokage monument or something." With that, Orochimaru was already off, chasing after the chakra trail Naruto left behind.



Naruto took a deep breath from a top the Hokage monument. He slowly gathered as much chakra as he could and began to form the proper seals. "STOP YOU BAKA!" The sudden shout alone nearly threw Naruto off of the mountain.

"What the Hell's wrong with you, Ero-sennin! You I could've fallen off!"

"I only wish you had! Maybe the world would have been relieved of your idiocy!" As the two quarreled, Orochimaru got in what he was hoping to be his last sigh of the day.

"Stop it already, Jiraiya. You're disgracing yourself." The perverted old sage actually pouted. "Now Naruto, these boss summons are several stories tall. Perhaps it would be better to summon him somewhere else?" Naruto's cheeks turned a bright crimson and he scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, oops."



"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto's voice echoed across the forest, and smoke soon filled the whole area. Once the smoke cleared, a truly giant toad with a pipe replaced it. Naruto grinned like a maniac and sprang up onto the toad's back and ran to its head. "Are you Gamabunta?"

"What are you doing on my head, you little brat!? And where's Jiraiya!?"

"Hey! I am NOT a brat! I summoned you after all!" There was an awkward pause before Gamabunta burst into laughter.

"You? Summoned me, the great Gamabunta? HAHA! It's not wise to lie to me boy. As if a brat like you could ever hope to summon a toad like me." Naruto was red all over and grinding his teeth at this point.

"What the Hell is your problem!? Why'd Ero-sennin tell me to summon you if all you're gonna do is make fun of me!? If I wanted to be laughed at I'd run around town in my undies!"

"Enough, brat. Where is Jiraiya?" Naruto made one last pout before speaking.

"Stupid toad…Ero-sennin's- Huh? Where'd he and Kaiki-sennin (Weird/Bizarre/Strange Sage) go?" Sure enough, right where the two old ninja had been, there was nothing.

"WHAT!? You mean the lousy excuse for a pervert summoned me here and then ran!"

"I keep telling you! I summoned you!" Naruto and Gamabunta proceeded into a heated argument, ending with Naruto huffing and falling into a sitting position on Gamabunta's head.

"Jeez, why can't you be as nice as the little candy toad guy?" Gamabunta's lips froze in mid movement.

'Eh? Is this the one Gamakichi told me about?' As Naruto huffed, he felt something wet and large wrap around him. He was plucked off of Gamabunta's head to come eye to eye with the toad boss. 'Blond hair, blue eyes, stubbornness…he's like the Yondaime's replica!'

"Did you summon a small toad named Gamakichi earlier?" Naruto blinked in confusion but nodded.

"Uh, yeah. He was my first summon. He really liked that mint." To the blond's further confusion Gamabunta closed his eyes in thought, before snapping them back open.

"Tell you what, brat. I'll make you a deal. If you can stay on my head till the sun sets, I'll make you my subordinate and official toad summoner."

"Would I get to train with you guys, then?"

"Yes."

"Then you're on!"



"This is awesome!" Naruto shouted as Gamabunta soared across the trees.

"Let's see you say that again in a couple minutes!" Gamabunta shouted back right before diving into a lake at ferocious speed. The giant toad stayed under the water for several seconds before reemerging in a glorious splash.

"Now I don't have to take shower today!"

'This kid is a freak,' Gamabunta thought quietly.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the world's future greatest kage!"

"Well Naruto Uzumaki, I hope you don't hold it against me if you die!" Gamabunta leapt upward with all he was worth, providing enough force to squish Naruto against him like a pancake. Then came the falling. They plummeted back to earth like a meteor, and it took all of Naruto's strength to keep a hold on Gamabunta's coat. The toad boss landed wit ha monstrous thud, spreading a colossal web of cracks across the whole forest.

"That was the most fun thing I never want to do again." As soon as those words left his mouth, Naruto regretted them immensely.

"Alright then!" Gamabunta poured more energy into his legs and propelled himself even higher into the air this time.



"And I thought that Manda was mean," Orochimaru said as he watched the show alongside Jiraiya.

"Naruto's putting up a pretty good effort. It's almost sunset." Jiraiya let his eyes slide to the side, to make sure Orochimaru wasn't looking before he let them slowly and safely slide downwards.

"Don't even think about, Jiraiya."

'Dammit.'



"Ha! I'm still on!" Naruto shouted, as if Gamabunta didn't know.

"You're stubborn brat, I'll give you that. But even you can't lift me."

"Huh? What you me-Oh shit!" As Gamabunta was in mid-air, he slowly stared to shift. "You suck!" Naruto shouted as they started to plummet downwards, this time him facing the rocks. Using ever last bit of his remaining chakra, Naruto made a mad dash to the tip of Gamabunta's nose. He made it to the amphibian's nostrils just a moment before they crashed.

"Still here!" Naruto chimed as Gamabunta struggled to upright himself, and then promptly fell off, comatose. In the distance, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya prepared to save Naruto from his imminent death, until a giant tongue caught him just inches above the ground.

"You put up an admirable display, Naruto," Gamabunta said, the beginnings of respect in his voice. "I suppose I could give you some of my own energy, but a place of healing would probably be better for you." It was at this moment that a scroll zipped past Gamabunta's head and landed in front of him, unfurling on its own. "What ya' know, the brat was the one who summoned me.



Naruto's eyes reluctantly blinked open. "About time you woke up." The blond slowly pulled himself away from the hospital mattress to address his visitor.

"Huh? Shikamaru? Where's Gamabunta? And Ero-sennin and Kaiki-sennin?" The pineapple haired genius gave Naruto an odd look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Want some fruit? I brought some for Chouji, but he's not being allowed any food at the moment.

"Huh? Chouji's here? Was he really hurt that badly in his match?"

"Nah. The troublesome oaf over ate. Bad case of indigestion." Naruto gave a quick, but raucous laugh.

"That's just like Chouji. Hey, Shikamaru…how about we eat the fruit right in front of him?" Shikamaru sighed, but he wore a faint smile nonetheless.

"How troublesome."



Gaara nearly licked his lips as his sand hovered over Rock Lee's sleeping form. If the Jinchuriki had any sense of humor, he would have found it ironic that this was to be the bowl-cut boy's last day in the hospital. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Gaara's sand lunged forward, or at least it was supposed to.

"And what the Hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara scowled at the blond's voice.

"He is my prey. Leave me be."

"Over my dead body." Shikamaru probably would've punched the other genin if he could. Desperate to escape the obviously psychotic boy, Shikamaru's brain went into overdrive.

"Listen. Both of us held a lot back in the prelims. Now leave or this is going to get real ugly."

"I'll enjoy killing all three of you."

'So much for that plan. How troublesome."

"Shikamaru, leave." Shikamaru spun his head around to gape at the blond, and so, consequently, did Gaara.

"You idiot, you got stronger sure, but you can't-"

"This isn't going to be a fight. You have to trust me!" Navy chakra began to seep out of Naruto's body and forcibly cut Shikamaru's shadow, much to the lazy genin's surprise, and then shoved him out of the room.

"Foo-" Gaara was cut off when a tail of chakra came out of Naruto's aura.

"Kyuubi say he has a message for Ichibi." Naruto's voice was a menacing growl, but at the same time seemed completely natural for him. Gaara's eye widened for a split second before he clutched his head in pain. It didn't take long for Gaara's hand to drop to his side, limp.

"**So you are Kyuubi's vessel?**" Now Gaara's voice was little more than a growl. Naruto didn't even bother to nod as his eyes and chakra turned red.

"**It's been a long time, Shuka_ko_.**" Gaara/Ichibi growled, but it became more feminine.

"**Quiet, Kyuubi. You know how these humans are. They won't respect you unless they think you're a male.**" Naruto/Kyuubi chuckled in response.

"**I couldn't help it, with you being so motherly and all.**" Gaara/Ichibi's face turned red.

"**Sh-shut up! What are you talking about! The boy's only a tool!**"

"**I don't recall mentioning the boy.**" The demon-possessed Jinchuriki blushed even harder, but at the same time, Naruto/Kyuubi's face grew a sympathetic expression.

"**I know you miss him, Shukako, but you can't raise this boy like you did Sunajuu (Sand beast). He's human, he doesn't have the blood lust like your son did.**" Gaara/Ichibi's fists clenched, and tears began rolling off his/her face.

"**I-I…You don't know what you're talking about! He's just a human! How could I care for-**"

"**I care for my vessel, Shukako. He is like a son to me, and is my heir.** **I will leave you to meditate on these things, but please do what you know is right.**" With that, Kyuubi's chakra seeped away, and Naruto walked out of the door, with a mesmerized Gaara following him. The two demon-containers all but ignored Shikamaru and the newly arrived Gai as they went their separate paths.

**Okay, next chapter I swear I'm gonna finish up the month with some toad training! I swear it! I know the demons are OOC, Hell, I even changed the gender of one of them, but LIVE WITH IT! Anyway, Please read and REVIEW! **


	16. The Tournament Begins

**I understand that some people are disappointed that Naruto doesn't summon foxes, but come on, EVERYONE does that.**

"You suck, Ero-sennin!" Naruto tackled the surprised old man from behind. "You ditched me!"

"Eh!? You're awake already!"

"Yeah! And now I'm going to clean your clock!"

"Shouldn't you be training with the toads?" Naruto froze from his position atop Jiraiya's head.

"Oh, yeah! Good idea, Kaiki-sennin!" Orochimaru's eye twitched at the nickname, but he didn't even bother to try to reprimand the boy. Besides, the blond was already gone.

"Where does he get his energy?" Jiraiya grumbled as he fixed his ruffled mane.



"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The whole forest was filled with smoke as Naruto completed his summoning. "Hey, Gamabunta!" Naruto waved ecstatically at the giant toad.

"What do you want, Naruto?" The toad chief was deeply perturbed at being awoken from his afternoon nap.

"You said if I passed you test I could train with the toads!" In his bad mood, Gamabunta decided to play with the little brat for awhile.

"Oh? And who said you passed?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at the smirking toad before jumping onto his head.

"Hm? Up for round-"

"Tanrakuteki Omoi no Jutsu (Nasty Thought Technique)!"



Several minutes later, Gamabunta still lay twitching on his side. "How about now?" Naruto shouted at the slowly recovering toad.

"Y-yes! Just never use that on me again!"

"Deal!"

"I'm going to enjoy, _training _you brat." In another giant puff of smoke, the two were gone.

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted as he gazed up the spiritual home of the toads. "This is were you guys live?" Gamabunta couldn't help but smirk at the boy's appreciation.

"And where you'll be training. First up…Hop across the lily pads."

"What kind of training is that?" Gamabunta mumbled something about disrespectful brats under his breath.

"I didn't finish. You'll hop across the lily pads with this toad on your back." At his words, a horse sized toad bounded up next to them. Naruto grinned.

"Ha! This'll be a piece of cake!" Naruto hopped down from Gamabunta and landed next to the other toad. "All aboard!" Looking slightly awkward, the toad got on Naruto's back. Once his load was secure, the blond bounded to the nearest of the giant lily pads. Or at least he tried to. It was more like a warped skip. With a growl of frustration, Naruto fell on al fours and began hopping, toad style. The first lily pad almost immediately gave away, dunking both Naruto and his rider. With wild arm movement, he eventually floated to the surface.

"CRAP!"

"Um, maybe you should use chakra," the toad on his back suggested.

"Huh? Oh, right! Thanks!" Naruto scrambled back to land and started hopping again, channeling chakra to both his hands and feet in order to spare the lily pads of his weight. It didn't take long for even Naruto's chakra reserves to run dry. As he lay gasping on the opposite shore, only one thought ran across his mind.

'This training is gonna suck.'



"I'm going to be late!" Naruto tore across the grass towards the stadium. Only stopping when he slammed into a stump. "Ow! Who put this tree in my way!?"

"N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"A talking log?" If she wasn't so terrified, Hinata would have done an anime-fall down.

"I-It's me, N-Naruto-kun."

"Oh! Hinata-chan! What're you doing behind that stump?" The shy Hyuuga took a deep breath and moved away from the log.

"I-I was j-just on m-my way t-to your m-match with Neji-niisan." Naruto's face suddenly scrunched into a scowl.

"That bastard doesn't deserve that title, Hinata-chan." Hinata barely heard a word Naruto said. The killing intent he was emitting was nothing short of demonic. It took Naruto a moment to realize why Hinata had paled more than usual, but once he did he toned down his anger.

"Hehe, sorry, Hinata-chan. Oh! Thanks again for that salve. It really came in handy during my training."

"Y-y-your welcome." Naruto grinned at her, but the moment was cut short.

"Ah! I'm late!" Naruto screamed. He grabbed Hinata by the arm and started dragging her to the stadium.

'Naruto-kun…is touching me again.'



"We're here!"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hinata-chan?"

"T-the t-tournament starts a-at e-eight."

"Yeah, so?"

"I-it's s-s-seven." There was a very awkward silence.

"Hehe, oops." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I really need a watch." Naruto turned around all the way to face Hinata fully. "Sorry I sort of dragged you here so early, Hinata-chan." Hinata turned crimson under Naruto's embarrassed grin.

"N-no, i-it's okay, N-Naruto-kun." Naruto's embarrassed grin turned into a smile.

"Really? Thanks Hinata-chan. Hey, how about we find you a good seat so you can watch me own Neji?" Without waiting for her answer, Naruto dragged Hinata once again, this time to a front row seat near the competitor's box. "Guess I'll go warm-up."

"Um, N-Naruto-kun?" The blond stopped in mid-step.

"Eh? What is it?"

"A-are y-you sure you c-c-can b-beat him?" Naruto grinned at her and did the good guy pose.

"No worries, Hinata-chan! I'm not the little brat I used to be!"

"I-I n-n-never thought y-you were a b-b-brat, N-Naruto-kun." At first, Naruto looked genuinely puzzled, but soon a large grin split his face.

"Really, Hinata-chan! Thanks!" Hinata turned a whole new shade of red as Naruto grabbed her in bone-crushing hug, and swiftly fainted.

"Huh? Hinata-chan? HINATA-CHAN!"

"As smooth as ever, eh Naruto?" Naruto stopped shaking the unconscious Hyuuga.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan?" Naruto grinned at his teammates.

"Don't forget us, kid." Naruto twisted his head around. "Zabuza-sensei! Haku!" Zabuza smirked and let out a low wolf whistle.

"Who's the chick, kid?" A small blush crept its way up Naruto's face.

"Aw, it looks like our little Naruto-chan is finally growing up." Himaru appeared between them with a puff of smoke.

"She's just a friend, okay."

"A friend you were hugging and made faint with you touch?" Sasuke asked.

"Like you're one to talk. You follow Sakura-chan around like a lovesick puppy!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!" The two glared at each other like two cowboys.

"Whoa, there. Save it for the finals," Himaru said as he put himself between the two rivals. Himaru's expression turned hard as he faced Naruto. The blond held in a sigh of relief. He was glad to be one a different topic. "Now Naruto, put your little girlfriend in her seat so you can go stretch." Or maybe not.

**Kind of short, I know. But I need reviews! Please! I'm not asking for a ridiculous number, but I've seen fics with ten chapters and one hundred reviews!**


	17. The Invasion

**Hello again. Thanks everyone for the reviews. Warning: there's a little bit of Kakashi-bashing in this chapter. Now…ONWARD!**

It took every last drop of Naruto's will power to not dance from toe-to-toe. 'Finally!' The blond shot a glare at Neji, who was only a few people away. The Hyuuga genius just pretended to ignore him.

"You there, stop fidgeting and present yourself proudly to the spectators." Naruto blinked. He hadn't even realized he'd been shaking. After a moment longer, the proctor showed the fighters the new roster before he spoke again. "Alright, everyone but the first combatants go to the waiting area. The first match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuuga is about to begin!" The other competitors filed away into the waiting area as Naruto and Neji went to opposite sides of the arena. "Begin!" Neji smirked at Naruto.

'He has no self-doubt. He believes he can beat me.' "All the better. I can't wait to see despair cloud your-"

"Oh shut-up and fight, bastard." In a blur of speed, Naruto charged the other boy, fist already drawn back. Neji just smirked at Naruto's idiocy as he launched an attack to seal off the tenketsu in the offending arm. Every shinobi in the crowd gasped as the punch connected, and sent Neji flying.

"How!?" Neji growled as he regained his footing. He knew he struck him! How was the blond's arm still usable? At his angered expression, Naruto couldn't help but smirk.

"Is that the power of the Jyuuken? The power of the destiny that controls you?" Neji wiped the blood away from his mouth.

"You will lose, Dead Last. Destiny commands it."

"How do you know?" Neji seemed taken aback by the question.

"How do I know? I know because one's value is decided at birth. Once a failure, always a failure. Once an elite, always an elite." Just then, Naruto started laughing, once again catching the Hyuuga prodigy off guard.

"You dare mock me!?" Naruto wiped a tear away from his eye as he slowly regained his composure.

"I can't believe Konoha calls such weak people their strongest."

"What!?" Neji's blood was reaching a boiling point.

"You bow down to an unproven idea without even trying to test it, and not to mention that you guy only employ one thing: your taijutsu! If someone figures out how to block that, you're screwed." Neji managed to gather his lips into a smirk.

"Nothing can defeat the Jyuuken or destiny."

"Oh? Then why are none of my tenketsus sealed?" Naruto displayed his arm proudly, and to Neji's utter horror, his previous attack really did do nothing.

"A-A fluke."

"Isn't that sort of against the whole 'Destiny' thing?"

"You don't know anything!" Neji charged Naruto, who simply sighed.

"Fool." The blond just stood there as blow after blow rained down from Neji until eventually the prodigy had to stop to catch his breath.

"H-how?" To Neji's utter disbelief, Naruto's tenketsu were fine, and none of his organs were damaged.

"And they call you a genius? Very well, I'll explain. Your pathetic little fighting style attacks an opponents chakra pathways and tenketsu in order to deal damage. But the thing is, if the defender's chakra is denser in that part of their body than the burst you release, nothing happens." Naruto assumed a stance that struck horror into several jounin and the Hyuuga head up in the stands. "But my style isn't so picky!" Naruto charged Neji, who only had time to raise his arms up to block before the blond's fist connected. The Hyuuga genius went skidding backwards, and when he finally stopped, his arms fell limp.

'My arms feel like jelly, and I can't push chakra out of them!' Neji started to panic as Naruto started to come closer, but it didn't take long for that fear to turn into anger.

"You're a fool! You have no idea what the real world is like!"



Gai stormed up to Himaru as his student began his tale of the Main House's cruelty. "What are you thinking, teaching a genin the Akaken!?" Himaru turned a lazy eye to the green-clad jounin.

"Oh, hello Gai-san, hello Kakashi-san." The white-haired shinobi used his one eye to glare at Himaru.

"This kind of foolishness will rob you of your students, Himaru-san." Himaru waved them off.

"Relax. He swore to be careful with it. All he did was render the little prick's arms useless for a little while. Any medic worth their salt could fix him." Himaru focused his gaze on Gai. "And hey, you taught your student to use the gates. Hypocrisy is un-youthful." Kakashi sweat-dropped as his 'eternal rival' was brought to tears, and more painfully, shouting about youth. Doing his best to ignore the shouting, Himaru refocused on Kakashi.

"I've no grudge against you, Kakashi-san, but if you get in the way of my student's progression to their full potential…" A beam of focused killing intent hit Kakashi like a mallet.

"**I WILL see you dead**." The sentence reverberated in Kakashi's mind, and it took all the jounin had to calmly walk away instead of run screaming. Once both jounin were gone, Himaru turned his attention back to his student's match.

"Well, aren't you brave, Himaru-kun?" The normally sexy purr made Himaru pale.



"Done yet?" Naruto said with a yawn as Neji finished his story. If he could move them, the boy's fists would have clenched in anger.

"You mock my pain!? You have no idea what it's like to lose your own father, and to have a mark that damns you to be considered lesser than others!" A sudden wave of killing intent washed over the entire arena, reaching all the way up to the kage's booth.

"Do you truly believe that you're the only one who's ever suffered?" Naruto's voice came out as a growl. "From the day I wan born I had nothing. From the day I wan born I was treated like trash. Yet you, you had a father, and you still have a family in the Branch House. Everyone respects you and people love you, whether you realize it or not." The killing intent seemed to intensify with each word until dark blue chakra began to emanate from Naruto's body.

"**And now I'm going to prove it**!" Naruto charged again.

"Kaiten!" Neji cried out desperately as he began spinning, and didn't dare stop, even after Naruto's initial attack was deflected. The blond smirked as he beheld the whirling shield of chakra.

"**Forgetting something**?" Naruto reached out and grabbed Neji's hand, the one point where he couldn't release chakra anymore, effectively stopping the Hyuuga's rotation. Neji could only watch as Naruto's fist slammed into his face, rendering him immobile on the ground, but still conscious.

"I fought destiny and won." Naruto's voice returned too normal. "You can do the same. After all, you're not a failure like me."



As Naruto passed Sasuke on their respective ways up and down the stairs, he whispered into the brunet's ear. "Kyuubi talked to Gaara's demon. He should be a little calmer now, but be careful." Sasuke just smirked and put his hand on his sword.

"Relax. Ryuuchi (Dragon Blood) and I can take care of him." Naruto just nodded and continued his way up to the top and quickly shared this information with Sakura as well, though in hushed tones to avoid other's hearing. Sakura was visibly relieved at the news.

"Thank goodness." Meanwhile, as Gaara went down the opposite stair case, Temari and Kankouro discreetly watched his back. He'd been acting so strangely lately, and he had even slept!

'Has Shukaku finally taken you over, Gaara?' Temari wondered as she watched her little brother face off against Sasuke.



"Tell Uzumaki thank-you." Sasuke was a bit taken aback by this statement. "There is an attack from my village and Oto coming soon. I have warned your Hokage, and now you should carry this information to Uzumaki." Sasuke smirked at the redhead.

"Well thanks, but for now I wish to test my blade against your sand." Gaara nodded and smirked back.

"Then let the contest begin." Sasuke leapt back and began forming several hand seals.

"Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu (Earth Dragon Blast Technique)!" Even as the dragon was still forming, Sasuke unsheathed his blade, and just as the dragon of earth fired its attack, Sasuke unleashed a wave of fire from his crimson sword, basking the projectiles in flame. As Gaara's sand reached up to block, Sasuke was on the move, using his Sharingan to predict where any of the unused sand would rise as he performed more hand seals: Dragon-tiger-monkey-ox-hare-dragon. A ball of golden flame enveloped Sasuke's hand and shaped into the head of a dragon as he charged, leaving a trail of sparks in his wake.

"Odama no Ryuujutsu: Nenshouga (Ultimate Dragon Art: Burning Fang)!" The dragon head roared as it plunged into Gaara's chest. Sasuke's eyes widened.

'Eh? No sand shield?' Suddenly, 'Gaara' burst into sand and wrapped around Sasuke's arm.

"Not bad, Uchiha, but not good enough." To the Jinchuuriki's surprise, Sasuke smirked.

"Too slow, Gaara." 'Sasuke' turned into a log, and was right behind Gaara. Before the sand could react, Sasuke planted his foot in Gaara's face, sending the other boy skidding across the ground. While Gaara righted himself, Sasuke tried to catch his breath.

'Damn. What I wouldn't give for Naruto's chakra reserves.' Sasuke popped a pill into his mouth before charging Gaara again, this time his hand on his sword. The Suna ninja sent wave after wave of sand, but Sasuke cut each down with a swift sword slash.

"That is an impressive blade, Uchiha," Gaara stated as Sasuke came closer.

"Let's see if you're still so fond of it in a moment!" Sasuke blurred out of existence, eerily reminding Gaara of an equally eerie genin. The redhead was unable to move in time, and received several shallow cuts along his body. Was it not for his armor, he'd have been sliced to pieces.

"Blood…" Gaara took a shaky breath and tried to calm the voice in his head.

'**Kill him! He hurt you!**'

'It's a fight, Mother. He must.' Shukako reluctantly quieted after that. When Gaara opened his eyes, feathers were falling from the sky.

"It appears our fight is on hold, Uchiha." Sasuke reluctantly nodded and dispelled the genjutsu from himself as Suna and Oto shinobi poured into the arena. Temari and Kankouro jumped down to their sibling's side, though carefully, and readied to fight Sasuke.

"You will stand down."

"W-what? But Gaa-"

"I do not want to have to kill either of you." That shut his sibling up, both in fear and surprise. Gaara sighed as he saw Baki coming. "You will stop where you are if you wish to live." The Suna jounin stopped in his tracks. Meanwhile, Gaara turned to face Sasuke and the newly arriving Naruto and Sakura. "I will see if I can…deter my fellow shinobi from this battle. Temari, Kankouro, come. Baki, stay where you are." With that, the Sand Sibling disappeared in a whirlwind of sand. The sound of Naruto's knuckles cracking got his teammates attention.

"This'll be fun."

**Short, but oh well. Hope you liked this chapter. Please read and review.**


	18. Summons and Asskicking

**I'm back and really sorry this is so late. Thanks for the reviews, I'm really glad people are actually reading this. Oh, and if anyone is concerned about how easily Neji fell, allow me to explain. All in all, Naruto isn't that much better than Neji in actual skill, he simply learned how to defeat the Jyuuken, Neji's only weapon. Anyway, onward!**

"So, you are Orochi?" Sarutobi asked his student's look-a-like from within the purple shield. The snake demon smirked.

"Indeed I am, and now for getting in the way of my plans, you shall die, human."

"No he shall not!" Out of nowhere, Jiraiya and the real Orochimaru appeared.

"Orochimaru-sama?" The Sound Five simultaneously asked.

"You shall drop the shield, that is an imposter!" Orochimaru formed his hands in the tiger seal. "Kai!" By channeling insane amounts of chakra through the seal, the powerful illusion over Orochi snapped, revealing his true, if not smaller than normal, form. The eight-headed snake hissed at Orochimaru as the shield was dropped, and the Sound Five rushed to their master's aide.

"Orochimaru-sama, what's going on?" Tayuya braved.

"You five stay back and replace the seal around us, I'll explain later." With that, Jiraiya and Orochimaru rushed to their sensei's aide, leaving five very confused, but nonetheless obedient ninja.

"Did Orochimaru-sama just look concerned for us?" Sakon asked as the Sound Five re-distributed themselves around the much older trio.

"Don't be an idiot!" Tayuya shouted back.



Orochi narrowed all of his eyes. This was trouble, in this weaker form, he stood no chance against the three legendary shinobi. And he was trapped.

"Today you die once and for all, Orochi!" Orochimaru bellowed as he began forming seals, soon accompanied by both Jiraiya and Sarutobi.

"Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast Technique)!"

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu (Shadow Shuriken Technique)!"

"Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu!" Two dragons of fire and hundreds of exploding tag-armed shuriken rained down on Orochi, encompassing him in fire and rocking the whole building. As the smoke cleared, Orochi's charred body was visible.

"What? That worked?" Jiraiya said, completely flabbergasted.

"No, just slowed him down," Orochimaru answered through gritted teeth as he pointed up. It was almost transparent, but something passed through the shield and into the sky. "Now he just has to find a new host." Orochimaru turned to his Sound Five. "Drop the shield. I owe you an explanation."



Naruto couldn't help but shout in glee as he punched out another Oto ninja. "Do you think you could enjoy yourself a little less!?" Sakura shouted as her own fist brought an enemy to his knees.

"Aw, don't be like that, Sakura-chan!"

"Let the dobe have his fun," Sasuke said as he cut down a foe of his own. "Sakura, you're the best with genjutsu, see if you can dispel it from any other ninja." Sakura nodded before leaping back into the stadium.

"Ah, Sakura. Good to see you're okay," Himaru greeted her as he bent an Oto jounin over his knee. "Don't bother waking anyone up." Himaru caught a punch aimed for his head and crushed the offending fist before ramming his elbow into the ninja's face. "Anyone who fell under is safer asleep." Sakura nodded, a bit disappointed that she had come up here for nothing.

"Alright, Sensei. Be careful." A hand grabbed Sakura by the arm and dragged her into an ice mirror just as a powerful Katon jutsu came crashing down. "Thank-you, Haku-kun." Haku smiled lightly at her before going back to aid Zabuza on the opposite side of the arena. "You and Zabuza-sensei be careful too!" Sakura shouted as Haku disappeared. With that, Sakura jumped down from the spectator seats to rejoin her teammates.

"Back so soon?" Sasuke asked as he noticed Sakura.

"Himaru-sensei's orders." Sasuke just sighed.

"Fine then."

"Come one guys, we should leave! This place is pretty secure!" Naruto shouted, already at the arena exit.

"Naruto you baka, wait for us!" Sakura shouted back as she and Sasuke rushed to catch up with the hyperactive blond.

"What the Hell is that!?" Naruto's sudden outburst brought the couple's run to a fever pitch.

"Are you o- Holy crap," was all Sakura could say as monstrous snakes roamed the village streets. By this time, Naruto was already forming seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Two house-sized toads wielding katanas appeared in a puff of smoke. "Sick 'em!" The two toads mumbled at Naruto's choice of words, but followed them through none the less, chopping any snake in their path apart. Sakura and Sasuke just sweat dropped.

"W-were those samurai toads?" Sakura managed to ask.

"Yep!" Sakura's lips moved, but no sound came out until eventually she just shrugged and joined Sasuke in seal forming.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Two Japanese dragons several dozen feet long appeared, as well as two panthers. The summons four didn't even wait for a command before they started ripping into snakes and shinobi. Sakura and even Sasuke were panting slightly after the summoning, but Naruto looked more or less fine.

"Where the Hell do you get your stamina?" Sasuke asked after collecting his breath.

"Guess I'm just lucky."

"And you call me a bastard."

"Hypocrite. Hey, maybe you can be a politician after all, Naruto."

"Gee, thanks Sakura-chan. Wait a minute…" Sakura ran off, laughing the entire time. "You're mean, Sakura-chan!"

**Okay, I know it's short, late and crappy, but this chapter was sort of unplanned. Anyway, I _swear _the next one will be better. They'll probably start work on the village soon, too. Hurray!**


	19. Construction: Part One

**I'm SOOOOO sorry this is late, but it's not my fault! My power's been out since THURSDAY! My Internet, at the moment that I'm writing this, is also being kind of funky. Yahoo. Anyway, onward!**

Naruto was starting to tire, but pushed the thought of sleep out of his head. "Well, that took awhile," Sasuke wheezed from his side as the final Oto ninja in the neighborhood fell before them.

"I think we should take a break," Sakura said as she leaned against a wall. Naruto nodded, but a kunai zipped past his ear.

"You'll have plenty of rest in Hell, brats." A powerful wave of killing intent washed over them, not enough to paralyze them, but still a lot. Sasuke narrowed crimson eyes at the ninja. He was a jounin from Oto judging by his clothes, and he looked fresh. The older shinobi smirked at them. "Any last words?" To everyone's surprise, Naruto smirked right back, flashing some canine.

"Yeah. **First tail**!" Dark blue chakra erupted from Naruto's body, slowly reforming around him into the shape of a fox with a single tail of chakra. Naruto's bestial features, such as his fangs and whiskers, became for prominent. His blue eyes slit, and got on all fours. "**I've been wanting to test this out**." His voice came out as a growl. In a flash, he was gone, then slamming his clawed hand into the jounin's gut, who turned into a log. In a rather idiotic display on the part of the Oto ninja, he charged Naruto from above with a kunai.

"Die!" Naruto's tail shot up and wrapped around the jounin like a snake.

"**Bye**." Blood splattered across the ground. As soon as Naruto released the body, his fox aura shrank and he clumsily made it to his feet. "Damn, that hurts more than opening the gates."

"I'll always be happy to take it off your hands," Sasuke said and Naruto gave him a raspberry.

"DEMON!" Time seemed to freeze as the trio slowly twisted their necks to face a terrified Konoha villager.

"Oh, boy," was all Naruto could think to say.



"This is does force a move a little earlier than I anticipated, but oh well," Himaru said as he watched Naruto pack up the rest of his belongings. The disgruntled blond roughly shoved a sixteenth pack of ramen into his bag.

"Relax, dobe," Sasuke said. "It's not like we've been banished into missing-ninhood, no offense Zabuza-sensei."

"None taken."

"We're just leaving until Hokage-sama can calm the council down."

"Yeah, we'll get to start work on the village. I think I have a good location picked out." At the mention of the village, Naruto brightened.

"Yeah! Who needs Konoha, out village'll be the best EVER!" Sakura swiftly implanted her fist into Naruto's head.

"Do you want the whole village to know?" she scolded as he rubbed his sore head.

"Okay, okay! Do you really have to hit so hard, Sakura-chan?" The pink-haired kunoichi smiled sweetly at him.

"What can I say, beating on you is the best part of my day."

"What about making-out with Sasuke?" Both mentioned genin blushed a deep crimson and Naruto burst out laughing.

"Enough with the teasing," Himaru said. "Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu!" With a pop, everyone was gone.

"Here we are!" When the smoke cleared, a beautiful coast lay in front of their eyes.

"AWESOME!" While Naruto ran up and down the shoreline, Sakura realized it was up to her to be serious.

"Are we in Wave Country, Himaru-sensei?"

"Excellent guess, Sakura, but not exactly." The young kunoichi blinked up curiously at him. "We are in an island, in the center of Wave to be precise, but it isn't technically part of the nation."

"CANNON BALL!" Ignoring the splash caused by a certain blond, Himaru continued.

"The island we're on has no name or country because no one had dared to set food on it." Now everyone, even a very wet Naruto, was all-ears. At this, the black-haired jounin just behind them. Everyone followed his finger to the trees in the island's center.

"HOLY MOTHER OF RAMEN!"

"Very well said, Naruto," Himaru said with a slight sweat drop. Large pairs of glowing eyes stared at them from within the shadows of the trees. After a moment, several of the pairs of eyes moved out of the shadows, first revealing horses, then their horns came into view, and finally their wings.

"Whoa," everyone but Himaru said, at a loss for any other words. Himaru on the other hand not-so-gently shoved Naruto out of his shock.

"It's polite to say 'hi' to your neighbors."

"What?"

"They're pegasuses. If you can impress them, they'll make valuable allies."

"Why me?"

"You're the kage-to-be." Naruto grumbled something but shook it off and started towards the winged horses.

"Oh, and if you mess up, they'll probably attack you." Naruto's eye twitched but he forged ahead, coming face to face with the oldest pegasus. "Um…Hey there, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?" The old horse leaned towards him and gave Naruto a firm push with his nose. "Hey, no need to be rude!" The old pegasus pushed Naruto again, harder this time. "If you don't stop that-" He pushed again, harder. "You're really starting to-" One final push, and Naruto nearly fell on his but. "Okay, that's it! You are going down!" Everyone sweat dropped as Naruto tackled the old pegasus and began thrashing around on the ground with it. A sudden neigh rang through the air and the winged animal took off, with Naruto hanging onto its back hoof.

"Ow, ow, ow!" The pegasus began kicking Naruto in the face, eventually knocking the blond off. "Oh no you don't! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A new Naruto poofed into existence in front of the pegasus and grabbed him in a head-lock. The animal thrashed wildly in the air until it clumsily landed back on the ground where the real Naruto tackled and pinned it to the sand. A sudden bout of neighing from the other pegasuses put the shinobi on alert, but instead of attacking they did a sort of bow for Naruto. The blond slowly released the old pegasus and it too bowed once it was back on its hooves.

"Looks like you impressed them, Naruto," Himaru said as he came up to the blond's side.

"Cool. Eh… now what?"

"You know the Inuzuka clan?"

"Yeah…" Naruto's mind was starting to piece it together. "Oh! So there going to be like Kiba's dog!"

"Kind of. We just have to find the right people and bang…we have another clan."

"Speaking of which, Himaru-sensei…" Sasuke strolled up the sand toward them. "How exactly are we going to find able-bodied shinobi just lying around?" Himaru grinned that sort of grin that tells he knows more than he's letting on.

"Oh, we're not looking for able-bodied shinobi. We're looking for the under-dogs." Sasuke raised an eye brow at him. "You see Sasuke, you can't know true strength until you've known true weakness. That Rock Lee character is an example. As painful as it is, struggle makes one stronger, and that's the kind of people we're looking for."

"Sounds like a crappy village." Naruto whirled on the unfamiliar female voice.

"Who said that!? Eh? Kaiki-sennin?"

"What did you just call Orochimaru-sama!?" Sakon shouted.

"At ease, everyone. Naruto means no offense." Naruto ran up to Orochimaru and the four kids surrounding him. Wait, make that five.

"You have a guy coming out of your back!"

"Yeah, what of it!?" Ukon asked in little more than a growl.

"That's awesome! Can you like, move to his chest and punch together? That'd be like having four arms!" Naruto's eyes continued to scan over the group. "Dude! You have _six _arms! That's just plain unfair!" Naruto detailed each and every one of the Oto Five's unique attributes, each time with an almost child-like fervor and excitement. He even toldJiroubu that he could totally beat him in a ramen eating contest.

"Are you an idiot?" The female voice reminded Naruto of who had insulted his village-to-be. Instead of a response from the loud blond, Tayuya felt a tremendous wave of killing intent.

"**Anyone who mocks my dream will feel its power full force**!" Even the boisterous Tayuya was silenced, a feat only Orochimaru had ever accomplished.

"Calm down, Naruto!" The killing intent faded as Sakura punched him in the shoulder. As the poor blond rubbed his nearly broken arm, Sakura bowed and apologized to the still slightly shocked ex-Oto shinobi.

"Sorry about him. Naruto can get kind of emotional. Anyway, my name is Sakura, the boy behind me is Sasuke-kun, Himaru-sensei is the one with the bangs, the guy with the huge sword is Zabuza-sensei and the other guy is Haku-kun."

"Haku-'kun'? Wait, that's a GUY?" Kidoumaru asked, pointing three hands at a very irritated Haku.

"And I don't appreciate being called a girl." The spider-nin froze at the voice behind him. This guy could've gutted him like a fish just then if he'd wanted to.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So will I," Tayuya said, but in a completely different tone of voice, one that made the ex-Kiri shinobi blush a whole new shade of red.

"Introduce yourselves," Orochimaru added in an almost gentle tone that the Oto Five were still not used to, even after he'd explained the situation to them.

"Tayuya."

"Kidoumaru."

"Sakon."

"Ukon."

"Jiroubu."

"Kimmimaro."

"Kimmimaro!" Orochimaru whirled on the approaching shinobi. "I told you to stay and rest at Oto."

"I am fine, Orochimaru-sama." The Snake Sannin sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair.

"Ooh, ooh! What can you do?" Naruto bounced over to Kimmimaro and gazed at him with eager eyes. The bone ninja gave the blond a cold look.

"_You're_ Naruto Uzumaki?"

"That's me! Future kage of- Well we haven't named it yet, actually." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, before his eyes suddenly widened. His nose twitched and he leaned in closer to Kimmimaro, all trace of childishness gone. "You're sick. In the heart." Kimmimaro gravely nodded. "Then hold still." Before Kimmimaro could react, Naruto gripped his arm and the bone ninja couldn't move. It was over in an instant. Naruto's free hand glowed dark blue and he slammed his fist into Kimmimaro's chest, right over his heart. The bone ninja stumbled and hacked up something black, which Naruto then stepped on and ground into the sand.

"W-what just happened?" Kimmimaro wheezed out as he felt the constant throbbing pain in his heart subside. Naruto grinned so widely his face looked about ready to split in half.

"You're all better!" Everyone, including Orochimaru, on the ex-Oto side just stared.

"Naruto can't perform most medical jutsu simply because he lacks the chakra control, unlike our Sakura, but most diseases can't stand up to a blast of demon chakra," Himaru summed up. "Though you may want to be careful for a little while. Human bodies aren't designed for holding demon chakra." Himaru turned to Sakura. "Do a quick check would you? Make sure Naruto didn't rupture anything." Sakura nodded and yanked the still slightly befuddled Kimmimaro over to the side.

'He's officially on the abnormal list,' each and every one of the Oto Five thought simultaneously.

"Thank-you for the support, Orochimaru-sama," Himaru said and bowed to the older shinobi.

"Huh? Support?" Naruto asked, and _everyone _sweat dropped.

"These five are your first new recruits," Orochimaru said. "I would send more as thanks, but my village needs a lot of man power to fix the damage Orochi did."

"So you're not re-joining Konoha?" Himaru asked. Orochimaru only shook his head.

"When I realized I would lose the title of Hokage to Arashi, my own weakness let Orochi in. I cannot return to Konoha as a shinobi, and I must repent to the villagers to Oto." Himaru smiled sadly.

"Well, one more ally for use, I suppose. Once again, thank-you."

"Feel free to stop by anytime, Kaiki-sennin!" Orochimaru smiled at the blond before turning to his shinobi.

"I wish I could see you settle in, but time won't allow it. I'll definitely come by to say 'hi'." And with that, he was gone.

"Naruto!" The blond turned around to face his teacher.

"Yeah, Himaru-sensei?"

"I want you to start scouring for recruits. Try to focus more on children, most adults are to late to save. We'll branch off later, but for now Wave will do." Naruto did a little salute, and was about to dash off, but Himaru stopped him with a raised hand. "Leave some shadow clones. You'll know why when you get back." Once several pops were heard, Naruto was off for real this time. Once the blond was out of sight, Himaru clapped his hands together and put on a big smile.

"So, who's ready to set up camp?"



A small boy ran through the alleys, accidentally taking a wrong turn and ending up at a dead end. He whirled to face his pursuer, a bulky butcher. "I told you, I didn't take it!" The butcher voice came out greasy, just like his face.

"Don't lie, brat! I saw ya' do it, now pay up!"

"I don't have any money!"

"Then I'll take it out of your hide!" The boy clamped his eyes shut. He was going to die for the one thing he _didn't _steal. A loud 'thump' without any pain on his part told him that something was amiss. He creaked his eyes open, and was greeted by the sight of an angel.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and you're coming with me!" A very loud angel.

Similar occurrences occurred all over Wave. Dozens of blondes could be seen jumping from roof top with a person or two on their backs. Whole families of people were being carried across the roof tops, and none of them had any idea what was going on. But hey, it had to be better than here.



"Why'd you choose Wave?" Zabuza asked as Himaru bent some palm trees into a shelter to teach some pegasuses how to do it.

"Simple. It doesn't have a shinobi village, it's protected by the sea, it's going to be experiencing an economic boom with the completion of the bridge and that same bridge is going to be a constant source of body guard employment." Zabuza quirked a hairless eye brow at the jounin.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"This whole thing? Since I was about fourteen. Now get of your butt and carve up some lumber or something." Zabuza grumbled something about being bossy, when his eyes suddenly brightened with mischief.

"So, who was that chick you ditched when the invasion started?" Himaru turned a bright shade of red and nearly let go of the trees.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Zabuza smirked underneath his bandages.

"You're gay, aren't you?" This time, Himaru did let go of the trees who promptly snapped back into place.

"I am NOT! I just…she took me into her house."

"Yeah, so?" Himaru cast a sidelong glance at the kids working several yards away before leaning toward Zabuza's ear. The missing nin's eyes widened considerably.

"Whoa. Guessing you'd be the 'S'?"

"Shhh!" Himaru shot another look at the genin and Zabuza just laughed.

"Ah, relax. They'll have to learn about it eventually. Oh, and from personal experience, chicks like that _never _give up on something they want." Himaru shuddered.

"I know."

**That's all for now. Hope you liked it. Now my Internet just has to start working and I'll be set!**


	20. Construction: Part Two

**Sorry to have to tell you guys this, but my sister is coming home from college, so my non-school Internet use shall be limited. IMPORTANT: Since some reviewers have showed…displeasure at the admittedly cheesy name of my fic, I'm holding a vote for the village's name and my fic's new name. The choices are:**

**Itamigakure- The Village Hidden in Pain**

**Kagegakure- The Village Hidden in Shadows**

**Shinigakure- The Village Hidden in Death**

**Namigakure- The Village Hidden in Waves**

**Onigakure- The Village Hidden by Demons**

**Please note that since Naruto isn't one of the five main kages, his name will be based off of the village, i.e., Shinikage (Death Shadow), except in the case of Kagegakure where I'll probably just call him the Onikage (Demon Shadow) because its cooler than Namikage (Wave Shadow). I will still use Namikage for Namigakure, however. Oh, and feel free to suggest other names. Anyway, Onward!**

"Himaru-sensei!" A certain blond yelled out, making his voice ring across the sky as he and a several dozen clones landed on the island, and with cargo. "I got some people!"

"Don't yell, Naruto, I'm right here," Himaru said as he approached the giddy blond. "I see you've collected quite a few villagers, even some adults, very good." When no response came from Naruto or any of the several people, Himaru started chuckling before turning around to observe the handiwork himself. "Haku's done quite a job, wouldn't you say?" Naruto just nodded dumbly as he beheld the massive fortress-like wall of ice surrounding their island.

"How the Hell did he do this!?"

"Remember the clones you left behind?"

"Yeah, why?" Himaru reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out a small, navy-blue pill.

"There's a way to condense them into pills of your hanyou chakra. These pills, when ingested by someone with a bloodline, magnifies said ability to incredible levels." Just as he finished speaking, the sound of puking came from the distance, and Himaru blushed slightly and offered a sheepish grin. "But it has effects similar to dug withdrawals on the body." Naruto was in mid-step toward the direction of the puking, but then remembrance flashed across his bestial features.

"Um, what do you want me to do with all these people, Himaru-sensei? They're sort of creeped out, and I think I help calm them down, but what I want to go check up on Haku…" The tension of the decision was visibly racking Naruto's brain.

"I-I am fine, Naruto-kun." A very wobbly and even paler than usual Haku approached them, Zabuza at his side looking all too amused.

"Yeah, Haku's fine. I can't say I expected to have to hold his hair up as he hurled in a bucket until he was around twenty or so, but he's fine."

"'He'!?" Several of the people in Naruto's little entourage shouted. Luckily, Haku was too sick to be angry as he promptly fell forward into the sand and began snoozing.

"Hehe, I should give one of those pills to Sasuke," Naruto schemed with an almost sadistic grin. Himaru 'ahemed' to re-attain his student's attention before turning his focus on the new villagers.

"I don't suppose our future leader here, Naruto, remembered to tell you why he brought you here?" To the older ninja's surprise, a small chorus of 'yes' rippled across the crowd.

"Ha! See, I don't always forget things!" Himaru smiled at his student and patted Naruto's head, though at the boy's increased height it was a bit of a challenge.

"Good job, Naruto. You'll be a fine kage. Now, for introductions."

"That one's Yishen, he's Jin, she's Hana…" Naruto began as he started pointing and listing people one by one.

"Hold-you already know all their names?" Naruto grinned at his sensei.

"Yep. Learned 'em while we stopped to tell them about the village." Naruto's face darkened slightly. "Some people jumped ship, though…"

"That's okay, Naruto. We don't want to rob Wave of its entire population." Himaru patted the blond's shoulder. "Now, back to introductions."



"What are you guys doing?" A small gang of boys all jumped as Naruto showed himself among their hiding spot underneath the trees. "The work's that way. Houses ain't going to build themselves." The guessed 'leader' of the group took a step toward Naruto and smiled.

"Oh, it's just you, Naruto-sama. We were just having some fun."

"Stop calling me 'sama', it makes me itchy. And what exactly are you doing?" The boy smirked.

"Just having some fun with the dobe." Naruto's eye twitched before he was instantly in the middle of the group. Another boy, black-haired and smaller than them, looked up at Naruto from the ground, his clothes dirtied and his body bruised. But what really set Naruto off, was his eyes. He was blind.

"What…the Hell…" Not the brightest stars in the sky, none of the boys noticed Naruto's dangerous tone. Though they did notice his fists in their faces. Once the bullies were not so neatly piled up, Naruto turned back to the still unmoving blind boy.

"You're name's Toku, right? Are you okay?"

"N-Naruto-sama?" Toku mumbled, barely recognizing his savior's voice. Toku felt himself be grabbed by the sides and limply thrown onto something hard and muscular; a back.

"Don't worry, I'll get Sakura-chan to patch you up." Toku barely felt the wind run through his hair before Naruto stopped, the soft squelch of sand coming to his ears.

'H-how is he so fa-AAGGGHHHHHHH!' Naruto broke off into a (at least for a normal person) mind-bendingly fast run.

"Sakura-chaaan!" The pink-haired kunoichi looked up from the stones she was stacking.

"What is it Naru- Oh my, lord! What happened to him?" Toku felt himself be shifted into a small pair of arms, but his head was spinning a little too much for him to tell anything else before unconsciousness finally claimed him.

**I'm sorry this is so insultingly short, but oh well, it was more for a way to post the vote than anything else. You guys have until the update after the next one to cast your votes, so roughly two weeks, give or take. By the way, Toku is important. Just look up the definition of his name to get a hint. I know OCs are evil, but I figure I did an okay job with Himaru, so why not? Please read, review and VOTE!**


	21. Jutsu, Searching and Akatsuki

**Hello! I'm glad I got some votes, and so far Shinigakure is in the lead. Now, there were some questions about the last chapter. Dragon Noir, the reason Toku was referred to as a dobe was simply because the other kids looked down on him for being handicapped. And sadly their treatment of him really isn't that surprising. Naruto is the exception to that kind of life, not the rule. Those kids were only doing what they saw everyone else do, not to mention most bullies have been or are the victim of other bullies. And finally, I don't think killing my sister is my best option, but thank-you for the suggestion. Actually, I take that last 'finally' back; the pegasuses are there because I wanted a clan like the Inuzuka's but something original at the same time. Anyway, enough rambling, onward!**

The several bullies had just had the biggest talking to of their LIVES. And by talking to I mean Sakura had to forcefully restrain Naruto at the end of his surprisingly poetic speech. "We really aren't any better than the rest of the assholes back in town…" one of them muttered and kicked a rock across the sand.

"Think we should go pay Toku a visit?" Another one of them mentioned.

"You can do that after I've finished training you into the ground." The whole group jumped, but the leader, a dark haired, wiry youth, managed to face the voice.

"Sasuke-sama?" The other black-haired boy nodded.

"Yeah, the do-Naruto is going to get more villagers, so I'll be torturing you in the mean time." The half dozen boys gulped.



"Ero-sennin?" Naruto blinked curiously at the white-haired pervert.

"N-Naruto?" Jiraiya stared right back at the blond. This was most certainly an unexpected meeting. Just as Naruto had entered the new, busybody village, he had literally bumped into Jiraiya.

"Naruto, good to see you. I heard about the-" Naruto brushed it off with a wave of his hand before leveling a disapproving frown at the old ninja.

"You're not doing more of that perverted 'research', are you?" Jiraiya huffed at the young boy.

"I'll have you know that my books are best-sellers!" Then the white-haired shinobi shot Naruto a perverted smirk. "What are _you _doing here? This is the red light district."

"I'm recruiting!" If his tone hadn't been so utterly innocent, Jiraiya would have made a joke about it.

"For what?" Naruto froze. Himaru didn't tell Jiraiya, which means…

"Er, nothing, nothing! So, what areyou doing here?" Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow but left it alone.

"Old Sarutobi-sensei is looking for a replacement, so I'm looking for my old teammate."

"Kaiki-sennin?" Jiraiya still couldn't help but chuckle at Orochimaru's nickname.

"No, no. My other teammate, Tsunade." A little light bulb flashed over Jiraiya's head. Perhaps Naruto's infectious spirit could be put to use… "How about you come with me?" Naruto opened his mouth to refuse, but Jiraiya silenced him with a hand. "I'll teach you a super powerful jutsu." Naruto closed his mouth and his brow furrowed in concentration. On one hand, he really needed to recruit more people for the village, but on the other hand he did need to have as many powerful jutsu under his belt as possible to be a good kage. Suddenly, the blond snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Just a sec, Ero-sennin." Naruto created several shadow clones and quickly gave them mental instructions before dismissing them to search. "Ready!"



Jiraiya was pretty much amazed. A mere couple of _hours _and Naruto was already nearly cracking the rubber ball exercise. 'What the Hell did Himaru do to his kid?'

"I think I got it, Ero-sennin!" Naruto shouted, snapping the older ninja out of his thoughts. Sure enough, the rubber ball was twitching back and forth as chakra swirled around inside it. "Just a little more…" A piece of rubber shrapnel smacked Jiraiya right in the head as the ball was blown apart. There was an awkward silence as Jiraiya peeled the rubber away from his eyes to stare at a sheepishly grinning Naruto.

"Yeah, I think you've almost got it, Naruto." Once Jiraiya shook himself out of his stupor, he dropped the piece of rubber and continued walking along the busy road. "Well come on, Tsunade is probably either drunk off her butt or gambling. Now practice using the Rasengan by itself." Naruto nodded rapidly before beginning to gather chakra to his palm.

"So what's this old lady like?"

"I think she'll surprise you for once, Naruto." The blond, of course, had no idea what Jiraiya meant, so he just blinked curiously at the much older shinobi. "But first, there's a hotel coming up, and I've got some…business to run…" Jiraiya slowly descended into a fit of giggles as he watched a beautiful woman no so nonchalantly strut by them. Naruto scowled in disgust at the old pervert, but Jiraiya was the first to speak up. Say, Naruto, how much money do you have?" Naruto opened his mouth to answer as a mischievous sparkle filled his eyes, but for only an instant.

"Didn't bring any." Jiraiya's eye twitched and he grumbled something before reaching into his own pocket and slamming a few coins into Naruto's hands.

"Go check into that hotel, and practice the Rasengan while you're there." Naruto gave him a mock salute before dashing off toward the hotel, accidentally flashing a little bit of wallet in his back pocket. "YOU CONNIVING BRAT!"



"Dammit, why is it so much harder to do without the ball!?" Naruto shouted before releasing a practical river of curses at his latest failed attempt at creating a stable Rasengan. In his tantrum, Naruto kicked out, sending his boot into the trash can and making a myriad of clinging sounds as it swirled around inside its container. The blond paused for a moment before a grin slowly started to spread across his face.

"Woohoo!" He leapt from the cough and fetched his boot, but a knock on the door stopped him from continuing his training. "Eh? Is Ero-sennin back already?" Naruto padded over to the door and opened hit. "Sasuke?" The blond blinked at his 'teammate' who was suddenly much taller. Naruto's eyes flew open. "You're Itachi!" Naruto leapt backwards to gain distance between himself and the cloaked visitors.

"Come with us, Naruto-kun," Itachi said.

"Hey, Itachi, how about we cut his legs off? You know, stop him from squirming?"

"**Kit! That sword!**"

'Not now, Kyuubi!'

"**Listen to me: get it, and a certain shark will be in your debt!**"

'Shark? What are you-'

"ANIKI!" At the sound of Sasuke's voice, Naruto took action and promptly rammed through the wall next to the door. Not exactly neat, but it didn't involve going through Itachi and the fish-man.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he formed up beside his fuming teammate.

"I'll tell you later, but now Itachi must die!" Sasuke grabbed Ryuchi with one hand and placed the other in his pocket. "Naruto, please don't get in my way." The Kyuubi container's mouth set in a firm line, but he nodded.

"Fine. I'll take Fish-Face."

"Ha! Think you can beat us, brats?" Kisame bellowed as he hefted Samehada into fighting position. Both boys smirked.

"We know we can." Sasuke charged forward and popped a navy blue pill into his mouth as he unsheathed Ryuuchi. Meanwhile, Naruto's aura flared and changed into the shape of a one-tailed fox.

"**Kit! Suck it in!**" Without hesitation, Naruto pulled in the aura as Samehada swept over his head.

"You're not as stupid as you look," Kisame said as he readied Samehada to attack again. On the outside, Naruto still had his bestial appearance and power, just not the protective chakra shield or tail

"**If that impressed you then this will be easier than I thought. First, Second and Third Gates: Release!**" The floor cracked nearly to the point of shattering as Naruto's power slammed into it. "**Time to die.**" With that, the blond disappeared and almost instantaneously reappeared underneath Kisame before kicking him through the roof. While Naruto unleashed hellish mid-air combat on Kisame, Sasuke fought Itachi with a seriously buffed up Sharingan. All three tomoes were there, and the veins around his eyes bulged out in a style akin to the Byakuugan, not to mention the kind of creepy glow emanating from them.

"Borrowing a demon's power, little brother?" Itachi asked as he narrowly dodged a sword slash.

"Borrowing my _friend's _power!" Sasuke roared as he dodged a strike from Itachi. 'These eyes are incredible, I can see all his movements so clearly!'

"It will take more than this to defeat me, foolish little brother." Itachi was dodging Sasuke's attacks easily enough; even if he couldn't land a hit on him yet, Itachi was confident that Sasuke couldn't keep this up for much longer.

"How about this then? Amaterasu!" With another swing of Ryuchi, a massive blade of black fire hurled itself at Itachi. The Uchiha genius was surprised to say the least, but he still managed to use his own Amaterasu to block the brunt of the attack. In the end, it was _Sasuke's_ attack that won out, pushing his brother back and slightly burning the palms of his hands. Once the black flame cleared, Sasuke was charging again, a golden dragon head cloaking his fist.

"Nenshouga!" Itachi stuck out his own hand and the two forces met, Sasuke's jutsu pushing with all it was worth against Itachi's sheer power. That is until Kisame came slamming back down from the roof, and then through the floor, and so on. The surprise caused both shinobi to lose concentration, resulting in an explosion that rocked the building and sent both warriors stumbling back.

"**Naruto Uzumaki is here!**" Naruto soon followed in all his one-tail glory. Itachi narrowed his eyes. He didn't think the container would join in the fighting until Sasuke lost, but uncertainties were not something he liked.

"The Toad Mountain Sage is here!" Definitely time to leave. As the hotel morphed into the intestines of a giant frog, Itachi escaped in a blast of black flame.

"DAmmit…"Sasuke collapsed to one knee and began hurling his guts out. Jiraiya rushed over and canceled the frog jutsu before checking the boys for damage. Naruto, who had changed back, looked exhausted and strained but otherwise fine thanks to his healing abilities. Sasuke, on the other hand, Naruto had to take into the nearest bathroom and hold his head over a toilet. Ah, true friendship.

**Still a little shorter than I would have liked, but oh well. One more week to vote, people! Next chapter I will declare the name of the village! Please read, review and VOTE!**


	22. Tsunade and a Name

**Well, there was a tie between Onigakure and Shinigakure, so if there are no complaints, I'll go for the middle ground. Keep reading to find out what that is. Oh, and I was asked how Sasuke was borrowing Naruto's power. He took one of the pills made of Naruto's demon chakra, remember?**

"The Aka-what now?" Naruto asked Sasuke. The raven-haired shinobi massaged his aching temples before answering.

"The Akatsuki. Orochimaru told Himaru-sensei about them. Apparently they're a group of S-class missing ninja bent on capturing the Jinchuriki." Naruto's usually grinning face was plastered into a frown at this point. "Their members, as Orochimaru knows them, are Sasori of the Red Sands from Suna, Deidara from Iwa, Kisame from Kiri, who you managed to kill," Sasuke's eyes shot to the claimed Samehada, all wrapped up in protective cloth, "a pair named Hidan and Kakuzu, some sort of plant man named Zetsu, my…brother and an unknown leader."

"Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I caught Fish-face off guard, but I doubt I can pull that trick off again." Sasuke frowned at his friend's seriousness. He only admitted he wasn't invincible when things were _really _getting to him. "Well, you should head back to the village. I'm still recruiting people. Oh, and tell Himaru-sensei that Ero-sennin is teaching me a cool new jutsu called the Rasengan!" Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment before they were shut by a jolt of pain from his head.

"Damn I hate those pills…okay, don't die while I'm gone, dobe." Sasuke stood from his seat on the hotel bed before leaping out the window.

"Can I come in now?" Naruto's frown deepened.

"It's not like you haven't heard every word we've said, anyway." Jiraiya sighed. He'd been able to sense the kid's killing intent from ten feet away from the room.

"So, what's this about a village? Didn't the old man give you a 'vacation' while he dealt with the old farts on the council?" Naruto studied the right side of the room.

"Promise not to tell, E-Jiraiya-sensei?" The legendary pervert raised an eyebrow.

"You have my word."

"We're starting our own village."

"Not surprising." Naruto practically leapt out of the hotel room when he heard the new voice. He came face to face with a busty blonde and a black-haired young woman holding a pig.

"Eh? Are you two…_with_ Ero-sennin?" Naruto didn't even have time to ask why the blonde's eye was twitching before a fist sent him slamming into the wall.

"Me? With _that_ pervert! Why you little brat I'll-"

"Tsunade-sama, don't!"

"Let go, Shizune!" If it had been anyone other than Tsunade, Jiraiya would have loved to see two women wrestle. But it was Tsunade, so he was hiding in the corner next to Naruto.

"Naruto," he whispered, "that's my teammate, Tsunade!" The young blond wore a look of complete confusion as he finally peeled himself away from the wall.

"Huh? So you're old?" Naruto barely ducked in time to avoid another fist, this one nearly shattering the wall. "Eep!" Now he was behind Jiraiya. "She reminds me of Sakura-chan!" For some reason unknown to Jiraiya, Naruto was pretty close to shedding tears of fear.

"What the-Don't hide behind me, you brat!" Tsunade's eye started twitching as she watched the pair wrestle over who'd be behind the other.

"That ENOUGH!" Both of them froze, Naruto in mid-punch with Jiraiya pinching and pulling his cheeks. "You better explain why you brought me to see the brat. He's not exactly inspiring me to take the lousy Hokage job." Before she knew it, the other blond was in her face.

"What do you mean lousy!?" Tsunade didn't back down.

"What are you screeching about? You're leaving the damned village."

"Yeah, but I'm doing it to make a new one! Before that I wanted to be Hokage! They're heroes, and I'll _never _stop respecting them!" A sad smirk came to Tsunade's face.

"Heroes? Respect? Ha, they're just a bunch of idiot, giving up their lives for such a worthless village." Naruto's fist clenched.

"Why you-How can you ridicule them!? You were a shinobi of Konoha once, weren't you? Why'd you give up!?" Tsunade's smirk turned to a scowl.

"Watch it, punk." Naruto's expression of rage dimmed into a look of contempt, something that seemed unfitting on his face.

"I can see it in your eyes. You lost someone to the life of a ninja, so you quit. That's pathetic." Tsunade swung a wild punch, and Naruto simply sidestepped it. "If they were ninja, what do you think they'd want you to do? You're selfish."

"That's it, brat!" Tsunade's fist crashed into Naruto's chest, hurling him through the wall. Still enraged, she jumped down after him, sliding down the wall with chakra.

"Tsunade-sama, stop!" Shizune cried as both she and Jiraiya leapt out of the hotel to follow. As Naruto lay sprawled across the ground, he felt a strong grip lift him up by the collar.

"What do you think now, brat?" Tsunade said as she held him up with a clenched fist. Her smirk vanished when Naruto grinned at her.

"That you're selfish _and _stupid." Too late did she notice the chaotic, whirling ball of chakra in his limp hand. She tried to throw him away, but the malformed Rasengan exploded, sending them both dozens of feet in opposite directions. As Naruto struggled to fight off unconsciousness, he saw a dirtied Tsunade stand over him.

"I'll make you a bet: master the Rasengan in a week, and I'll not only be Hokage but I'll also give you this necklace. Fail, and you give up your dream of a new village." Naruto smirked slightly as his vision started to cloud.

"Deal."



"Good morning, Naruto-kun." The blond's eyes blinked open to see Shizune standing over him.

"Eh? You were with the old hag a couple of days ago." The black-haired girl smiled lightly.

"I'm Shizune, Tsunade-sama's assistant. I saw you black out again while you were training with the Rasengan. Look, Tsunade-sama wanted to-"

"Don't bother," Naruto shushed her with a grin, "I've already figured it out." Shizune couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in disbelief, but Naruto's grin just widened. "Like a shoe in a can, Shizune-neechan. Like a shoe in a can." Shizune opened her mouth as if to question him, but a loud boom rocked the building.

"What was that!?" Shizune cried as she calmed Ton-ton. Meanwhile, Naruto was on his feet and snarling.

"I smell a **snake**!" Dark blue chakra started to seep out of him as he leapt out the nearest window and landed on all fours. Sure enough, a giant, eight-headed snake filled the horizon with Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"So this is the demon that possessed Orochimaru." Tsunade was already in a fighting position, as was Jiraiya by her side.

"Yes, but don't worry. He may be big, but he hasn't gotten his full power back yet. Sarutobi-sensei, Orochimaru and I beat him last time pretty easily.

"**Fools**…" Orochi hissed as he began to twist and morph, finally finishing in a poof of smoke. Now he stood before them in the body of a certain white-haired Oto medic.

"Kabuto?" Naruto crashed in between the to Sannin. He'd heard from Himaru that the white-haired boy was a traitor, and now he looked to be possessed by Orochi. Without a word to any of them, Orochi pulled Kusanagi out of nowhere and slit his own arm. Tsunade gasped and froze, rooted to the spot.

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya turned to look at his old teammate for just a moment, but that was all Orochi needed to summon a giant snake to ram the Toad Sannin away from his hemophobic teammate, and charge the petrified busty kunoichi. Kusanagi met claws as Naruto intercepted, struggling to push the possessed Kabuto away. Orochi narrowed now slit eyes at the blond boy.

"Kyuubi…" A Curse Seal spread from underneath Kabuto's collar in a ring pattern. With enhanced strength, he shoved even one-tail Naruto out of the way and reared back to slash Tsunade.

"**First Gate: Release!**"A foot connected with Kabuto's jaw and sent him rocketing into the air. Naruto leapt up after him, pulling his bandages away wit his teeth. "**Renge!**" Bandages wrapped around Kabuto's body before Naruto aimed him and planted him like a turnip. Once Kabuto's possessed body was halfway in the ground, Naruto leapt away to reach Tsunade again, who was just looking at him in shock.

"**What? I still have to win the bet.**" Naruto grinned with his long canines, and blood spilled out of his mouth. His eyes traveled downward in shock as the Kusanagi stuck out of his stomach.

"You really are just like Kyuubi, so arrogant, so foolish," Orochi said with Kabuto's voice as he pulled Kusanagi out of Naruto to let the boy fall to his knees. "Now die." Kabuto brought the legendary sword down, but onto Tsunade. "Wh-what?" Orochi hissed and pulled Kusanagi away to strike again, but once more Tsunade took the blow. "Why do you interfere?"

"Because she's the Godaime Hokage!" Naruto was up and beside Tsunade, a clone to his right and a perfect Rasengan in between their three hands. Naruto plunged the hanyou-enhanced jutsu into Orochi's stomach, sending him backward in a ferocious, but one-sided, explosion of chakra until he finally crashed into a nearby boulder. Orochi staggered to his feet, Kabuto's healing abilities coming into play, until he started hacking out blood from the internal effects of the Rasengan.

"Damn you…" Just as the snake demon spoke, the giant snake and several of its kin that had been summoned beforehand came crashing down around him before poofing out of existence.

"The Toad Mountain Sage is back!" Jiraiya cried triumphantly as he made his entrance, a battle-ready Shizune at his side. Orochi's eyes narrowed as he scanned his four opponents.

"I'll be back, humans." With that, the snake disappeared into the shadow of the boulder. Once all trace of his presence was gone, Naruto turned to Tsunade and grinned.

"I win, Tsunade-baachan."



"Oh, shut up, brat." Indeed, Naruto hadn't stopped bragging all day since the battle with Orochi.

"Why should I? I won the bet, _and _mastered the Rasengan in a week!" A vein throbbed on Tsunade's head, and Naruto just closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. Instead, she lifted up his hitai-ate and kissed his forehead before looping her necklace around Naruto's neck.

"I hope the necklace serves your village better than it has ours." Naruto grinned and bowed his head, a very unusual act for the fox boy.

"Thanks, Tsunade-baachan! See ya' later!"

"Stop calling me old!" Tsunade half-heartedly swung her fist, but Naruto was already gone, his laughter echoing through the city. Once his presence was gone as well, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya.

"Well come on, let's get back to Konoha. I need to sort out the council so I can smack the brat around."



"You have such a big mouth…" Himaru said before smacking Naruto upside his head. "If too many people find out about our little village too soon, the old farts on the Konoha council could push to have us all executed for treason!" Himaru emphasized with another punch.

"Ow! What's it matter? Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baachan won't tell!"

"Not sober, she won't…" Himaru mumbled and massaged his temples. "Oh well, at least you learned the Rasengan. That'll come in handy. Now come on, we have enough villagers for now, so I have a new assignment for you." Naruto grinned and had to resist bouncing up and down.

"Ooh, ooh, what is it?"

"You brought Samehada, right?" Naruto nodded and unconsciously rubbed one of his arms.

"Yeah, the crazy thing keeps trying to attack me unless I exert chakra."

"I want you to go undercover into Kirigakure. Bring Samehada, but disguise it. If my theory is correct, a certain boy will come to you." Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"Who?" At this, a sly smile curved up Himaru's face.

"Samehada's true owner, of course. The Jinchuriki of the Sanbi no Same, the three-tailed shark!" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise for an instant before one of the biggest grins of all time spread across his face. He was going to meet another one of the people like him.

"No problem, Himaru-sensei!" Naruto rushed over to the spot where he had laid Samehada down and made sure it was firmly wrapped up and hidden from view.

'This was why you told me to bring the sword, huh Kyuubi?'

"**Of course, kit. Now hurry up, Sanbi will make a powerful ally.**" Naruto only nodded before taking of his Konoha hitai-ate andburying it in the sand.

"Sorry, but I can't exactly wear you in another hidden village." Naruto patted the spot before heaving Samehada onto his back. "Don't worry, you'll be with your owner soon." To the blond's surprise, the sword stopped writhing, and almost emitted an air of…happiness. Naruto shook of his surprise and was off at full speed running across the waves.

"**You're going to burn yourself out at this rate, kit.**"

'What else and am I supposed to do?'

"**You can summon giant toads and you're asking me this?**" Naruto stopped and just stood on top of the water.

'Eh…'

"**You can be really stupid sometime, kit.**"

'Shut-up!' "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" With a giant puff of smoke, Gamabunta appeared underneath Naruto.

"What the-" The giant toad unleashed a giant wave as he fell into the water before spluttering to the surface. "Na-ru-to…"

"Don't toads like water?" Naruto asked in genuine confusion as he looked down at Gamabunta.

"This is SALT water, you nincompoop! I'm a toad, we live in FRESH water!" Naruto blinked and tilted his head to the side.

"Eh, what's the difference?" There was a brief pause before Gamabunta smacked himself and dragged his webbed hand down.

"Never mind, brat. Now what do you want?"

"How fast can you get me to Kiri?" Unfortunately for Naruto, he couldn't see the sadistic grin spread across Gamabunta's face.

"Just watch." Gamabunta shot off through the water to a small island, stopping on it for an instant before using it to leap through the air. He soared through the sky for miles before crashing into the waves just short of the shore, dunking Naruto in the salty sea. Naruto released a muffled scream as the salt stung his eyes and lips before Gamabunta rose and shot off again, stopping just as he hit the shore to send Naruto flying into some trees.

"Is that all you got?" Naruto taunted as he shakily rose from the fragmented trees and started wobbling from foot to foot. Gamabunta snorted in satisfaction.

"Just get back on, brat. Kirigakure's still a couple of hops away." Naruto nodded before slowly climbing his way back up the toad boss.

Said hops later…

Naruto slid off of Gamabunta before dismissing him just a few hundred yards away from Kirigakure's gates. Naruto readied himself to run, but stopped with his foot just an inch above the ground. "Damn, if I run, they'll know I'm a ninja." Not trusting himself to be able to run slowly, Naruto started the walk toward the gates.



"State your business," one of the Kiri chuunin guards said, moving to block off the gate. Naruto took a deep breath before answering.

"Family visit. I have a cousin here." The chuunin nodded before moving aside and letting Naruto through. As soon as the gate clanged close behind him, Samehada started the throb. Gently at first, then constant and hard, pulling him in one direction.

"Hey, hey, hold it!" Naruto said, trying not to shout lest he draw attention to himself. As discreetly as he could, Naruto tried to wrestle the wrapped up blade into submission.

"Samehada…" Naruto's eyes widened in fear for a moment. Had he been exposed? He whirled into a fighting stance, but the person in front of him wasn't a ninja. He looked to be around twelve or thirteen and of average height. His skin was pale, probably from being hidden in Kirigakure's constant fog, and he had scruffy, blue hair. His most noticeable features, however, were a set of sharp teeth, and piercing yellow eyes. Naruto couldn't help but smile as the realization of this person's identity hit him, and he released his hold on Samehada, who practically flew to the boy's side.

"What's up, cousin?"

"Who are you?" Naruto gave the boy a foxy grin.

"Holder of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and in a warped sort of way, your cousin."

"Why did you have Samehada?" Naruto's eye twitched and he sweat dropped.

"You're not very trusting are you?" Naruto's eyes ran over the boy's rags, er, clothes, and decided he couldn't really blame him. "I killed the guy who had it last, and I was told it was yours. Now I have a proposition for you: How would you like to come with me?" The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes.

"To where?" Naruto resisted a smile when he heard the faint hope in the other boy's voice.

"To a new village. One where people like us can be accepted and live in peace. A village where we'll prove the whole world wrong!" A small smile crept up the other Jinchuriki's face before he stuck out his free hand.

"You have a deal…?"

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ittou. Ittou Yuushi" Naruto grasped Ittou's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Ittou. Now, let's get you out of here."

"How? The guards know my face, and a Henge won't get past them." Naruto grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"If there's anything I'm good at, it's distractions."



As the pair soared through the air, riding another giant toad, not quite as big as Gamabunta, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Ittou was sitting beside him, red as a tomato. For their little escape, Naruto had conjured several dozen shadow clones, and unleashed his harem jutsu on the poor unsuspecting guards.

"Naruto-sama?"

"Don't call me 'sama', but what is it?"

"May I unwrap Samehada?"

"Eh? Of course, it's your sword." Ittou nodded and tore through the Samehada's bandages. First the one's laid by Naruto to hide its shape, and then the one's Kisame kept around it, revealing its scaly blade to the sunlight. Naruto whistled at the giant sword.

"Dang. That thing looks cool." There was a powerful bump as their steed hit the water, but he managed to stay afloat and begin swimming. "So, Ittou, are you a ninja?" The boy's face turned steely.

"No, they wouldn't let a monster join the academy." Naruto snorted and spit into the ocean.

"Bastards. Frankly, I've found Kyuubi to be better company than most humans." Ittou stared wide-eyed at him.

"Y-you can talk to your Bijuu?" Naruto nodded.

"Yep. Once we get to the village, Himaru-sensei can fix your seal a little bit so you can, too.

"Naruto-sama, what is this village of yours called?" Naruto ignored the suffix and thought for a moment.

"Makaigakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in Hell)!"

**Well, what do you think? If there are enough complaints, I'll change it, but for now I think it fits. Anyway, please read and review!**


	23. Whoa!

**Important! The most valid argument I've received against Makaigakure is that it would be kind of silly explaining you come from Hell, but quite frankly, no more so than saying that you come from a leaf. And when you have demons watching your back, the name Hell becomes kind of intimidating. Onward**

"Makaigakure, eh?" Himaru said, repeating Naruto's suggestion. "Heh, I like it. Fine, Makaigakure it is." Naruto leapt in the air and cheered.

"Awesome! And now we have TWO Jinchuriki. Oh yeah, we need to introduce Ittou to everybody!" Naruto grabbed the other boy's hand, but Himaru's next words stopped any immediate future movement.

"Actually, we have three." The pause lasted for only another second.

"Really? Has Gaara come!?" Naruto's excitement was cut down a notch when Himaru smiled ruefully.

"I'm afraid Gaara had decided to redeem himself in the eyes of Sunagakure. But don't worry, it wins us another strong ally in the long run." Naruto almost sighed before he caught himself.

"Wait a minute, than who's the third Jinchuriki?"

"Do you remember that blind boy you helped the other day?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Toku? Yeah, but what does-" 'KYUUBI!'

"**What is it now, Kit? I was sleeping!**"

'Why didn't you tell me that Toku has a Bijuu!?'

"**Toku?**" There was an awkward silence as Himaru and Ittou both stared at Naruto, only one of them knowing what was probably going on his head.

'Never mind, Kyuubi…' "So Toku's a Jinchuriki?" Naruto asked out loud. Himaru couldn't help but chuckle at the blond ninja's slight blush before continuing.

"Indeed. It would appear that he holds the Gobi no Inu, the Five-tailed Dog."

"**You're in luck, Kit. If this 'Toku' shares any of Gobi's attributes, then he will follow you to imminent death without a second thought.**" Himaru only quirked an eyebrow when Naruto let out an impressed whistle.

"So have you done his seal yet, Himaru-sensei?" A sly smirk came to the Shinigami's s son's face.

"Why should I? Ittou and Toku are _your _ninja." The thought visibly traveled into Naruto's ear and through his mind, flashing across his eyes on the way.

"Really?" Though doubt did show itself on his face, excitement quickly squashed it.

"Why not? You've been falling behind in your seal practice, anyway." Himaru smiled innocently. "Just don't go breaking the seals." Naruto mumbled something incoherent.

"Okay, then. Himaru-sensei, get Toku while I work on Ittou." The black-haired man saluted, a small smile on his face, before disappearing. "Now, Ittou, I need you to, um, take off your shirt…" Surprisingly, Ittou did as he was told without a single word. The Jinchuriki's chest was just as pale as the rest of him, if not oddly muscular for a civilian, a feature Naruto quirked an eyebrow at.

"You've been training on your own, haven't you?" A small smirk made eerie by Ittou's sharp teeth played across the boy's lips. "Do you know how to mold chakra?"

"The basics." Naruto nodded with satisfaction.

"That makes this easier then. Okay, can you mold chakra to wherever you seal is?" Ittou nodded and shut his eyes in concentration as a seal almost identical to Naruto's original one appeared on his stomach. "Good, now hold it." Naruto cracked his knuckles before setting to work. He focused his chakra to his to his fingers and began redrawing the seal, only slightly deviating from the original design. Running his fingers just above each tip of the ten-point part of the seal, he pulled the pieces slightly farther from the main bulk of the seal.

"There we go!" Naruto wiped his hands together and stood back to appraise his work. "Try it out. See if you can feel a new presence in your mind. When Himaru-sensei messed with my seal, he didn't even tell me. The bastard left me to figure it out on my own…" While Naruto continued his little rant, Ittou suddenly fell backwards on his butt. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"H-he's yelling at me." Naruto blinked in confusion when Ittou looked like he was about ready to cry, until he saw a smile form on the shark-boy's face. "He's…_scolding_ me…" Naruto grinned, for it took someone else with the same experiences to truly understand what was surging through Ittou right now.

"A success, I see." Naruto turned on Himaru's voice, a true smile adorning the blond's face.

"Hey, Toku." The blind boy uttered something inaudible for someone without demonic senses. "Come on, speak up! Just because I can hear you doesn't mean everyone else can.

"H-hai, Naruto-sama."

"Stop calling me 'sama'. Anyway, take of your shirt and focus chakra to your seal." Despite the empty eyes, Naruto could tell Toku was giving him a black look. "Oh, whoops. Okay then, take of your shirt and hold still." In surprising contrast to his submissive and thought-to-be shy nature, Toku peeled off his rag of a shirt without a moment's hesitation.

"**He _is _a dog, Kit. They're a very open species, even for demons.**" Naruto only mentally nodded before placing one hand on Toku's shoulder.

"This might hurt." Naruto forced a small bit of his chakra through Toku's tenketsu. The boy tensed for a moment at the sensation, but managed to relax as the chakra made its way down to his stomach, revealing Toku's seal to the world. "So, why were you in Wave if you're a Jinchuriki?" Naruto asked while he changed Toku's seal.

"I-I'm not sure, Naruto-sama. I've just always been there." Naruto shrugged before backing up again, his work finished.

"You feel anything?" Toku thought for a moment, though it was hard to read anything from his blank eyes, and was about to shake his head before his whole body seized up. "Are you okay? Is Gobi doing something?" There was a long pause before Toku's answer.

"He's very…excited."

"**Hahaha, that's Gobi for you,**" Kyuubi howled from within Naruto's mind. "**Hey, Kit, when these two are more ready for it, how about you let us demons have a talk? It's been years since I've seen them.**"

'Sure, you big softy.' Kyuubi half-heartedly growled. "So, _now_ introduction, Himaru-sensei?" Himaru shrugged.

"Sure, sure. Just call everyone to order." The jounin almost immediately regretted what he just said. He had just give Naruto full permission to shout.

"VILLAGE ASSEMBLY!" Naruto's booming voice seemed to rock the whole island. Birds flew from trees, the distressed calls of pegasuses sounded across the sky, and over a hundred people filtered out of the underbrush and shadows to the spot where Naruto's voice had originated. When the whole village was finally assembled, Naruto couldn't help but grin proudly. They already had so man people. Granted, not nearly as many as Konoha, but still! And they'd come so far. He could see partial houses and shelters dotting the coast and forest, and Haku's freakish ice wall was still standing strong. Naruto coughed once for dramatic tension before beginning.

"All right, we have two very important villages to introduce themselves! Normally I'd just let you guys mingle, but since I'm not recruiting and will be helping in construction and stuff shortly anyway, I figured this wouldn't hurt! First off, is a boy most of you already know, but here's something new about him!" Naruto pulled Toku up beside him, and whispered to do a full introduction.

"M-my name is-"

"Louder," Naruto quietly reminded him.

"MY NAME IS TOKU AND I HOLD THE GOBI NO INU AS NARUTO-SAMA HOLDS THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!" Toku quite literally barked and then quickly backed up as Ittou padded across the sand to stand next to Naruto.

"My name is Ittou Yuushi, and I hold the Sanbi no Same as Naruto-sama holds the Kyuubi no Kitsune!" he declared proudly. Surprised gasps rolled across the crowd, but none were louder than Zabuza's.

"I-Ittou?"



"So you two know Ittou?" Naruto asked after finally managing to dismiss the crowd. Having been through a living-Hell or not, some people were still just horrible gossips. Both Zabuza and Haku nodded, as did Ittou.

"It is nice to see you again, Zabuza-san, Haku."

"It is truly nice to see you again as well, Ittou-kun," Haku said with a small smile.

"Good to see you're alive, brat. Can't say I ever imagined that _you_ were the Jinchuriki. Sneaky bastard," Zabuza mumbled, a smirk clearly visible underneath his wrappings. "You're parents would be proud." Ittou only nodded slightly.

"What's going on?" Naruto finally asked. He didn't want to break up this heart-'warming' reunion, but curiosity finally won over his meager manners.

"This kid is the son of the Twin Swords of the Mist. By themselves strong, together, they were invincible. Probably why the Mizukage had them executed." Zabuza sighed in true sadness. "They always were too loyal for a scumbag like him, 'study your swords' my ass," Zabuza mumbled in remembrance of a particularly painful memory.

"Yes," Ittou added with a surprisingly calm, voice, though his fingernails were drawing blood from his palm. "But thanks to Naruto-sama, I now have Samehada, and I swear to destroy that wretch of a kage as soon as I get a chance."

"Take your oath after you have all your weapons, brat." Zabuza was twirling a scroll around his fingertips. With a flick of his wrist he passed it to Ittou, who wasted no time in tearing it open, not even stopping to look before applying his blood to the seal. With a giant puff of smoke a katana appeared, but it was very unusual. There were two shining silver blades, each about fifty percent wider and longer than a normal katana, and a small line down the dark blue hilt indicated it could be split apart.

"The Tsuin Yaiba (Twin Blade)." With Samehada safely on his back, Ittou took the two swords apart and examined them separately. "Shodaime and Nidaime, my parents' swords." Ittou bowed deeply to Zabuza before placing the swords in their combined sheath. "Thank-you, Zabuza-san."

"No problem, kid." Himaru coughed to rein in everyone's attention.

"I seriously hate to break this up, but there's only so long until Tsunade clears things up and Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and I have to return to Konoha for awhile, so there's lots to do. Zabuza, could you train Ittou? Sanbi will no doubt train him in how to use Samehada, but he'll still need help with the Tsuin Yaiba." Zabuza did a mock salute before grabbing Ittou by the shoulder.

"He'll hardly be able to move once I'm done wit him." Wit ha poof, Zabuza and Haku were both gone, leaving Himaru to focus on Naruto and Toku.

"Toku, Naruto and I have an important task to cover, but afterwards I'll start teaching you about how to harness Gobi's power. Until then, wait at the Academy and train with the others."

"We have an Academy, now!? Awesome, I want too see it!" Himaru's eye twitched and he quickly grabbed Naruto by the collar and yanked.

"What part of 'important task' did you miss? Anyway, Toku, do you need help getting back to the others?" The blind boy shook his head.

"I can smell them."

"Good. Then be off, we'll be back in a bit." Toku nodded and bowed to both Naruto and Himaru before slowly heading toward a large cluster of people in the distance.

"So who're our teachers, Himaru-sensei?"

"Sakura and Sasuke, of course." Naruto burst out laughing.

"Ha, poor suckers. No wonder Sasuke chased after me."

"Actually, they've been enjoying it. Sakura loves sharing information, and Sasuke…"

"Just likes to be near Sakura-chan?" Himaru chuckled with his student.

"I suppose so. Now come on, we have a clan to create." Himaru grabbed Naruto's shoulder before the pair disappeared.



The duo reappeared with a giant puff of smoke. Their new location was atop a stony plateau on the other side of the island. Near them, a couple of the pegasus foals and a couple of the villagers stood in a mixed group. Himaru motioned towards the small crowd. "Notice anything about these people, Naruto?" The blond narrowed his eyes as he scanned the gathered people. Each face held both a child-like confusion and excitement or complete blankness.

"They're not really… 'there', are they?" It wasn't' a question.

"I'm afraid not, Naruto. In Wave and other such areas, drugs and pregnancy dance a little to closely. But, this makes them a perfect match for the pegasuses." Naruto just stared dumbly at his sensei. From what little the blond had gathered from the majestic beasts, he could tell that they were bot h smart and proud.

"What are you talking about, Sensei?"

"We're going to bind them. Their…" Himaru seemed uncomfortable with saying it, "half-minds will meld and create a shared-consciousness. They'll be both separate and joined. Get it?" Naruto's face was scrunched into a stumped frown.

"Er, sort of, I guess…" Himaru just shrugged before continuing.

"Anyway, this bond will create the ultimate cavalry unit for Makaigakure. Not very stealthy, but the sky is a powerful element to control." Naruto nodded in actual understanding.

"And you want me to put the finishing touches on the binding seal?"

"You're catching on, Naruto." Without another word, Naruto walked forward until a dark ring on the ground was visible to him. He crouched down and examined the fine strokes of the seal, only occasionally adding something with blood or rubbing out an obvious mistake Himaru had left for him.

"Done." Himaru came up behind Naruto and inspected his work.

"Excellent job. It looks like you haven't forgotten a thing." Naruto just grinned proudly before calling over one of the faces he remembered.

"Hey, Kaisharu, come here and bring one of your furry friends!" One of the mindlessly happy faces emerged from the crowd, his hand on the side of a promising foal. With a little prompting, Naruto led the boy and his surprisingly trusting companion into the middle of the seal. "Good, no stay." Naruto slowly backed out of the seal before running through several hand seals, both human and demon: monkey, water, air, horse, fire. He planted his hands on the edge of the seal and was rewarded by a blinding light.

"Bondingu Fuuin (Bonding Seal)!" Even after the light dissipated, you could still feel lingering remnants of chakra in the air, but only some of it was Naruto's. The blond grinned happily at…his…accomplishment.

"How much chakra did you put into that thing?" Himaru asked dumbly as the duo beheld Naruto's creation.

**Mwahahaha! If anyone would like descriptions of the current demon hand seals, just ask and I'll answer. Please read and review!**


	24. Getting Down and Dirty

**I am SOOOOO sorry! I know I'm really late, but I just got the Wii and it's so freaking cool! My mind hasn't exactly been on fan fiction much lately. Onward!**

The boy known as Kaisharu was almost unrecognizable: His once ebon hair was now ghostly white like a pegasus's mane, but most surprising of all were the wings protruding from his back. "K-Kaisharu?" Naruto mumbled, for once in his life speechless. The boy tilted his head to the side and brought a wing to his face.

"I feel funny." He directed his eyes toward Naruto's still frozen form. "Did you do this, Naruto-alpha?" The blond blinked in reply.

"'Naruto-alpha'?" Kaisharu nodded.

"You're the alpha." Himaru leaned in and whispered in Naruto's ear.

"He's referring to you as the pack leader. The pegasus is still in there, somewhere."

"Oh. Uh yes, Kaisharu, I did do this. I'm so-" The winged boy grabbed Naruto in a powerful hug and rubbed the side of his head against Naruto's.

"Thank-you, thank-you! I feel BETTER funny." The feral villager leapt back, a silly grin on his face. "I feel smart and have bird-things!"

"Er…you mean wings?" Kaisharu closed his mouth and thought for a moment.

"Yes! Wings!" He shouted, flapping the new appendages for emphasis.

"Kaisharu-kun, would you mind waiting over there with the others while I speak with Naruto?" The gray-eyed boy saluted with the wrong hand before marching off to rejoin the confused group of villagers and foals, and then promptly fell over. Before Naruto could reach him, a light akin to the first shot forth, and the wings rose up and out of Kaisharu's back, slowly bringing a full pegasus foal with them who snorted in confusion before joining Kaisharu on the ground.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked, his voice dull with confusion.

"I-I believe your hanyou chakra fused them on a mental and physical level, but the combination seems to take a lot of chakra," Himaru said before walking over and checking Kaisharu and the pegasus for injuries. "This requires research." Naruto just nodded and stood there for a moment.

"So…should I keep going with the others?" Himaru shook his head as he heaved both the boy and the pegasus onto his shoulders.

"Leave them to get to know the foals. I want to know what exactly happened before we continue." With that, Himaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto with the still confused villagers.

"Um…" even Naruto's steel nerve began to wear as the several puzzled eyes homed in on him. "Er…just go play with the horsies." There was utter silence before a chorus of happy shouts, both human and pegasus, came from the crowd. The group paraded across the plateau back down to the soon-to-be buildings, leaving Naruto to his thoughts. Silence.

"Guess I'll go help build." Naruto cracked his knuckles before pumping chakra to his legs and leaping into the air. Meanwhile on the shore, a certain group of ex-Oto ninja was resting on the hot sand.

"Why did Orochimaru-sama send us here again?" Sakon asked to know one in particular.

"Orochimaru-sama was fulfilling a debt to that raven-haired man," Jiroubu replied before throwing a kunai to knock a coconut into his hand. Tayuya snorted.

"Yeah, but that so called 'kage' kid hasn't been doing a whole lot of work."

"You were singing a different tune the last time you two "talked"," Kidoumaru said, earning a swift jab from the red headed girl.

"Shut-up!" Sakon hissed suddenly as his whole body tensed. "I hear someth-"

"Cannonball!" A blond blur crashed into the ground, scattering sand in every direction.

"What the Hell!?" came the unanimous shout of the Sound Four/Five. When the dust settled, all four battle-ready shinobi were surrounding a very dirty blond. Everyone sweat dropped as Naruto coughed up some sand, nearly gagging on it. By the time he'd stood up to his full height again, the ex-Oto ninja were at ease. Naruto blushed and grinned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hehe, oops. Didn't see you guys down here."

"Idiot," Tayuya mumbled.

"The ears aren't for decoration, lady," Naruto said, earning snickers from the other ninja.

"Whatever, you blond dick. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have more people to kidnap or something?" Naruto opened his mouth as if to answer, and blew a giant raspberry in Tayuya's face.

" Himaru-sensei's researching a little…problem and in the mean time I'm going to help build." Tayuya arched an eyebrow at him.

"Really? The great kage-to-be is actually going to grace us with his presence?" Naruto's grin never moved, but his hand did.

"Tayuya, Naruto-san, you both should really watch your manners," Jiroubu finally said, unable to take it anymore.

"So _you're _the nagging one."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing." Naruto waved his hands. "I'm just feeling out who's who in your group." There were several blank stares. "You know, the immature one, the nagging one, the crazy one, the emo one, etc." The stares continued, and the tall fox boy was starting to feel uncomfortable. "I'm just going to go now." He ran off down the shoreline, kicking up a cloud of sand as he went.

"He's definitely a freak," the remaining ninja chorused.



"Naruto-sama? What are you doing here?" One of the few adults on the island asked when Naruto arrived on the modest construction site.

"To help, of course!" Naruto shot through three hand seals before anyone could respond. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a massive puff of smoke, fifty blond heads dotted the area.

"This…" the villager stared in awe at Naruto's ability, as most civilians would. "…this should be very helpful, Naruto-sama."

A symphony of "What needs doing?" finally brought the attention of the rest of workers to the crowd of clones. The adult villager, seemingly flabbergasted, pointed dumbly to a pile of wood and stone. Before he could find his voice, the Narutos shouted in understanding. "On it!" The small army descended on the building materials and began working in a flurry of sand and limbs.

For awhile, the villagers could only stare, dumbfounded, until one by one they began to return to their own chores. "NARUTO!" A sudden, ear-splitting shout halted all work yet again. Even the flurry of movement in the corner halted, revealing several partially built huts. The real Naruto practically threw himself at the source of the noise.

"Sakura-chan!" He embraced the pink-haired girl who smiled lightly back.

"Hello to you too, Naruto. It seems like ages since I heard you shout last." Naruto released her and stuck his tongue out, but Sakura just grabbed it and pulled him into the sand. "Any particular reason you're making these people clear the sand the hard way?" She asked as the blond pulled his face out of the ground and spat out sand.

"Maybe." Sakura just sighed and wrapped him on the head.

"Just blow the sand away, baka." Naruto almost flew back onto his feet and locked his hands into a single seal: rooster. "Everybody stand to the sides!" Sakura called out; an order that was quickly followed as Naruto began to inhale, creating a small vortex in his mouth. When he stopped inhaling, his chest and face were both swollen.

"Gouzen Kaze no Jutsu (Roaring Wind Technique)!" A wave of gale-force winds plowed across the ground, blowing the sand back and into a huge dune, casting a protective shadow over the area. There was complete silence except for the occasional coughing out sand before raucous cheers came from the people as they descended back onto the now clear work site.

"The sand really is deep, isn't it?" Sakura surveyed the massive dune, her eyes flicking back and forth to the newly exposed bedrock.

"Uh huh," Naruto replied before cracking his knuckles. "Well, better get back to work." He took a single step forward before Sakura's hand tightened around his shoulder.

"You're clones can take care of this area. You should probably go drop off some more in the other districts." Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her.

"'Other' districts?"

"You have no idea how many villagers you actually got, do you?" There was a silent pause before Naruto found his comeback.

"Maybe." Sakura wrapped Naruto on the back of the head again before grabbing him by his ear.

"Come on, Naruto."

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, guys, just keep working!" Naruto shouted as he and Sakura became little more than dots in the distance.



"So why are we here, again?" Naruto asked as Sakura finally managed to drag him to the middle of the island. Sakura tapped the small mountain in front of them with her green gauntlet.

"Himaru-sensei says that this is going to be the Kage Tower and the hospital." Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Eh? Why both?"

"It'll be good for the morale of the patients if their kage is near them." Naruto nodded in understanding briefly before speaking up again.

"So again, why am I here?"

"Jiraiya-sama taught you the Rasengan, right?"

"Eh? How'd you know that?"

"Himaru-sensei told me of course. Now start tunneling!" Sakura shoved a piece of paper into Naruto's hands. "That's the plan for the building. You're going to use your Rasengan to dig this place out." Naruto grinned.

"Sounds like fun training." Sakura shook her head and began to walk off.

"I have some students to teach, oh, and Himaru-sensei says that there may be some creatures living in there, so be careful."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto unfurled the paper and scanned the complex maze briefly before stuffing it in his pocket. "Here we go! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Rasengan!" Naruto's fist plowed into the rock, and after about three seconds of tunneling, exploded, sending Naruto skidding across the ground on his butt. "Okay, guess I need a little bit more control." Naruto summoned two shadow clones to replace the one destroyed in the explosion before starting up again.

"Rasengan!"

**Oh my god, that was pathetically short, I'm SO SORRY! Don't worry, I'll update on time next week, and the guys'll be heading back to Konoha. Please read, review and FORGIVE!**


	25. Back to the Leaf

IMPORTANT: **Sorry I'm still really late, but my sister keeps looping me into playing the Wii with her. Not to mention I had a huge case of writer's block. Also, I'm going to hold a poll for Naruto's kage name:**

**Enmakage: Devil/ Ruler of Hell Shadow**

**Shinikage: Death Shadow**

**Onikage: Demon Shadow**

**Akumakage: Devil Shadow**

Naruto lay gasping within the tunnel. Even his massive chakra reserves were starting to drain. With a grunt of pain he pulled himself up to a sitting position and weakly pulled out the map. "Oh, man…" he moaned before collapsing again. "I'm barely even, like a tenth done!" He craned his neck to look outside. It was already pitch black outside. Then again, he was pretty far down.

"Well, haven't you been busy?" With the last of his strength, Naruto raised up his hand and erected his middle finger. The raven-haired avenger behind him sighed before heaving the large boy onto his back. "It's time for a break." Naruto made the barest of shakes with his head.

"No…I can keep…going." Without a word Sasuke dropped him onto the hard stone floor with a loud 'plop'. He waited for a couple moments before he picked the blond back up.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Sasuke poured chakra into his legs and dashed out of the tunnel. He emerged into the cool night air and bounded onto the nearby palm tree where he hopped from top to top until he reached the shore. "Now rest, you big idiot." Sasuke more or less gently dropped Naruto facedown onto the sand before sitting himself down next to him.

"Himaru-sensei says we're leaving back for Konoha tomorrow." Naruto let out a small grunt of disapproval. "Don't be grumpy, we have to do missions to save up money for the village anyway, and Zabuza-sensei and Haku will take good care of it."

"What about Toku and Ittou?"

"The other two Jinchuriki? Zabuza's drilling Ittou into the ground, and Himaru taught Toku and the other blind kids about very basic earth element manipulation." Sasuke shook his head. "I have no idea why he had earth element scrolls written in Braille in his pockets." The sand muffled Naruto's laugh into a chuckle.

"Well, he is a pack-rat." The pair just stared into the sky for a little while, sharing a peaceful silence. "I wonder if I can get Ichiraku-ojisan to move here?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Ramen-obsessed freak."

"Girly-emo freak.

"Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Baka!"

"Lovebird!"



Naruto adjusted his Hitai-ate and waved at the villagers. "See you guys later, we'll be back soon!" Some muffled moans of 'don't go Oniisan' came from the younger villagers but Naruto could only grin sheepishly. "Hey, don't worry! I'll be back with some gifts! And ramen!" At the word ramen almost the entire village broke out into deafening cheers.

"Convincing Ichiraku-ojisan might not be that hard after all," Naruto said as the cheers died down.

"Alright guys!" Himaru said, clapping his hands together to get their attention. "Time to go! Zabuza and Haku will take care of things while we're gone." All of Team 7 nodded. "Right then." Himaru cracked his knuckles before running through a few familiar seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" With a giant puff of smoke, Himaru's summon came into being. A hideous screech grated on their ears as a pair of leathery black wings blew the smoke away.

"Holy shit," was all Naruto or any of the other villagers could say as a giant pterodactyl came into view. Several heads turned their stunned stares at Himaru.

"What? So my summon is dinosaurs, I am the son of the Shinigami." While under the shocked stares, Himaru snapped his fingers and seemed to remember something.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot." He more or less handed a scroll to Zabuza's limp hand and gave Naruto several small seals. "Naruto, charge these with chakra, there for Kaisharu's clan. Zabuza, the scroll holds all the details you need." Naruto dumbly pumped some of his dark blue chakra into the seals before handing them back to Himaru who in turn gave them to Zabuza.

"Now then, all aboard!" Himaru leapt onto the scaly behemoth's back and motioned for his team to follow. "Whatever you guys do, don't look down." The genin only nodded as they pulled themselves up onto the gigantic lizard's back. A gust of wind blew across the whole village as the ancient creature rose into the air with another horrible shriek.

"I think I'm going to hurl," Sakura whimpered as the pterodactyl shot off. "Why couldn't we just teleport?" Her face was starting to turn as green as her gauntlets.

"Because this is so much cooler," Himaru replied as though it should have been obvious.

"But it's not like we can fly into the village with this thing," Sasuke stated while doing his best to not look terrified. Another piercing screech nearly rocked them off of their ride.

"He doesn't like it when you call him a 'thing'," Himaru explained.

"Got it." Sasuke was clutching the dinosaur's back for dear life.

"Himaru-sensei, how long is this gonna take?" If he'd been facing them, the rest of the team would have wet themselves at Himaru's smirk.

"Whining already? Well then, hang on tight!" Himaru kicked the sides of the pterodactyl's neck. With a sense-rending screech he went from a fast pace, to unholy speeds. Even with chakra to all four limbs the genin could barely hold on as the environment whizzed by around them. Soon the colors changed from blue to green, and the beast came to a grinding, mid-air halt leading to a not-so-gentle landing. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were all bucked off and sent skidding along the grass and into the brush, while Himaru merely dismounted before dispelling his summon with a pat on the head.

"Well that was fun. I guess we can just teleport the rest of the way."



With all the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Naruto didn't even notice the cold looks he received as their group entered Konoha. "So what's this Tsunade like, Naruto?"

"The old hag? Eh, she's not so special. Just a drunk and a lousy gambler."

"Ahem." Naruto froze in mid-step.

"And now I'm backing away from you." The rest of Team 7 practically leapt out of the way as a certain busty blond Hokage came stamping up to Naruto.

"H-hi, Tsunade-baachan." A vein bulged on Tsunade's head right before she sent Naruto through six inches of road. "Ow…" Tsunade snorted and turned to Himaru.

"So you're the infamous Himaru, hm?" The son of the Shinigami bowed deeply.

"A pleasure, Hokage-sama. Do you have any missions for us?"

"I think you've been busy enough lately," she replied. "And the donkey-headed council still doesn't trust Naruto on missions," she added too quietly for any of the nearby citizen's to hear.

"Thank-you for the reprieve, Hokage-sama. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go run for my life." The jounin was gone in a blur just as a pair of snakes shot out of the shadows.

"Dammit!" A purple-haired kunoichi leapt from the shadows before disappearing in a blur as well.

"She's almost as stubborn as I am," Naruto said from beside the others.

"How did you get out of the ground?" Tsunade asked. She'd expected him to be stuck like a turnip for another ten minutes at least. The other blond gave her a foxy grin.

"Nothing can dig like a fox."

"I challenge that!" Kiba came crashing down from the roof above them. I've been waiting for months to get you back, Naruto! I challenge you to a digging contest!"

"You really like losing that much?" The two glared at each other, little sparks of lightning shooting from their eyes.

"Well, the dobe's officially occupied for the rest of the afternoon," Sasuke said before scooting closer to Sakura. "And it has been a while since I took you out," he whispered in her hear, causing Sakura's face to match her hair.

"Just a moment, Sasuke-kun." She reluctantly pulled away from him and planted herself in front of Tsunade. "E-excuse me, Hokage-sama, but, um…well, Himaru-sensei has always used you as an example for my training, and I was wondering if…" Sakura gulped before steeling her eyes and leveling them at Tsunade. "I want to be your apprentice!" The older kunoichi smirked at her.

"Heh, why not?" Sakura's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really!?"

"If you can survive my training, then you're worthy. Report to my office tomorrow morning, eh, let's make that afternoon, at four o' clock sharp. Got it?" Sakura nodded her head vigorously just as Tsunade disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Congratulations," Sasuke said before looping his arm around her shoulders. "How about we go celebrate?" Sakura turned pink again, but let Sasuke lead her away.

**That was pathetically short for this wait, I know, but if I didn't end it now I'd NEVER get it done, trust me. Anyway, please vote, and I'm SO sorry. Once I got out of the loop, I never really got back in.**


	26. Oh Boy

**Hello again! I'm not quite as late this time! I think. Okay, not really. Anyway, due to some logic that was thrown at me by a reviewer, I've decided to throw Onikage out of the voting. The logic was that being called the demon shadow would only fortify Konoha's belief that Naruto is the Kyuubi. I suppose Akumakage could do the same thing, so I'm reducing the vote to just Enmakage (Enma's more like a god than a devil) and Shinikage. Sorry. Onward!**

"HA! I win!" A blond figure burst from the ground, covered in dirt. Moments later, another figure emerged.

"You got lucky!" Kiba shouted, but Naruto was already lost in his little happy dance. The dog-boy gritted his teeth and pointed a clawed finger at Naruto. "Come on! I challenge you to another rou-"

"RAMEN TIME!" Naruto was gone in an instant, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in his wake. Kiba blinked once before letting his hand drop.

"How did I lose to him?"



"Hey old man!" The old ramen chef smiled upon hearing the shout. His number one customer had finally come home, even if it was at the cost of several of his other customers leaving.

"Been awhile, Naruto? Where've you been?" he asked before turning back to his stove.

"Eh, just a mission, old man! Gimme a bowl of miso!" Ichiraku chuckled as he stirred the noodles.

"Hehe, no problem, kid." Naruto licked his lips in anticipation, his eyes taking on a hungry light, before suddenly switching to a confused one.

"Hey, where's Ayame-neechan?" Ichiraku nearly dropped his stirring spoon.

"She's…she's busy." Naruto quirked a blond eyebrow, his enhanced ears picking up an undertone of worry in Ichiraku's voice.

"Busy with what?" The old chef's comfort level continued to drop.

"…Big girl things."

"What do you mean 'big girl things'?" Ichiraku sighed before leaning to Naruto's ear and whispering something. "AYAMEN-NEECHAN HAS A BOYFRIEND!?"



Himaru gasped from his hiding spot, each breath hard and raspy. "Damn she's persistent," he mumbled. The raven-haired half-god slumped into a sitting position. "Thank my uncle for dark alleys."

"Himaru-san?" Himaru leapt to his feet.

"AGGHHHH!" A tanned face in front of him echoed his scream.

"AGGHHHH!" Both men finally stopped screaming and clutched their chests.

"I-Iruka-san…hello," Himaru wheezed.

"G-good afternoon, H-Himaru-san. I-I didn't mean to s-startle you." The jounin chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, likewise. I'm a little…on edge right now." Iruka raised an eyebrow, but left it alone.

"How about I buy you some lunch to make it up to you? I've been wanting to talk to you about something anyway." Himaru took one last ragged breath before smiling.

"Sounds nice, thanks. Where to?"

"How about Ichiraku Ramen?" Himaru laughed as an image of his ever-grinning blond student flashed before him.

"I've been wanting to visit the famous Ichiraku ever since I got Naruto on my team." Iruka nodded with a smile before moving to lead the way. Himaru emerged from the shadows of the alley to follow him, scanning the immediate area for a certain kunoichi before moving on.

"I have to admit, Himaru-san, I'm sort of jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"You taught Naruto for a little over a month and accomplished more than I could in a years of classes. I've always known Naruto was special, but how did you do it? And his teammates! If it weren't in the rules, I would have never dreamed about putting them together in a team, but you've actually pulled it off. What's your secret?" Before Iruka had even realized it, his question had become a rant, earning him a laugh from Himaru.

"Hypnotism." Iruka blinked.

"What?"

"Well, more like subliminal suggestion if you want to be picky, but yeah." The chuunin just stared at him.

"What?" he reiterated. Himaru took a deep breath before trying again.

"I have a little ability where I can implant suggestions and moods into people. It's pretty far from down right control, but it's the best damn motivator I've ever heard of." Iruka remained silent, finding a sudden interest in his feet.

"Can you teach it?"



Naruto stared in to the mirror, inspecting his fangs. 'Perfect,' he thought, adding a practiced predatory grin for emphasis. He briefly checked his kunai pouch before pulling his repaired coat on around him in an elegant twirl.

**'Pulling out all the stops, eh Kit?'** Naruto smirked.

'Only the best can date Ayame-neechan! A-class mission: Test the mysterious new boyfriend!'

**'Oh boy.' **Naruto ignored the demon and threw himself out his window. He clung to the outside wall on all fours before pushing off to reach a nearby roof. Naruto started to leap from roof to roof, little more than a shadow in the evening darkness. **'My, you're even being sneaky.' **

'Shut-up.' Naruto skidded to a halt on one of the rooftops and sniffed the air. 'Ha! Found her!' The blond lowered to all fours and peeked his head into the doorway. 'Huh? Why's everything upsi- oh, never mind.' Naruto scanned the room, searching for his quarry. 'Looks like a pretty fancy place,' he thought absent-mindedly. 'But where's Ayame-neechan? Oh, back there!' Naruto channeled a small amount of chakra to his eyes, very careful not to blow the precious little body parts to kingdom come. 'Yeah, that's definitely Ayame-neechan, but I don't recognize the guy…' Naruto's brow furrowed.

**'Isn't that the guy who's always hanging around Ichiraku?' **The Kyuubi suggested.

'You're right! How long has this been going on!?'

**'Does it matter? She looks happy enough kit, and the villagers are starting to notice you.'**

'So?'

"Demon!"

'Damn.' Naruto rolled to the side as the first rock came flying at him, but the second and third caught him off guard. "Ow! That hurts!" An angry crowd started to form around the restaurant, followed by a third volley of rocks. Naruto cursed before replacing himself with a log, desperate to get as far away as possible. And with Naruto's chakra supply, that was pretty far. As in deep into the woods on the opposite side of the village, far. Naruto blinked at his new surroundings. "Double damn."



"-And then you direct the chakra in a swirling motion and-"

"Himaru-san." Himaru stopped in mid-lesson with his fellow teacher and turned to the voice.

"Is something the matter, ANBU-san?" The bear-masked ANBU handed Himaru a scroll before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. "Well that was rude," Himaru said before standing up. "We'll have to continue this another time, Iruka-san. Thanks for the ramen."

"Where are you going?" Iruka asked, genuinely confused. "You haven't even read the scroll yet. Himaru shrugged and popped the scroll into one of his many pockets.

"Don't need to. Bye." As soon as Himaru disappeared, Iruka felt a new presence appear beside him, a much more ominous presence.

"Looks like you've made a new friend, Iruka-kun." The scarred ninja froze.

"H-hello, Anko-san."



"What's up?" Himaru appeared in a poof within the Hokage's office. Quite predictably Tsunade, Sarutobi and Jiraiya were there, all of them quite serious. Himaru felt a nervous sweat break out across his body. "Eh, heh, heh…is there a problem?" Tsunade placed her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her hands in a startling imitation of her sensei.

"Tell me, why do you want to make Naruto a kage?" Himaru raised an eyebrow.

"Because he's my student?"

"I'm not as easy to fool as these two," Tsunade gestured to Jiraiya and Sarutobi, who were both suitably insulted, but they stayed quiet lest they incur the she-devil's wrath. Himaru just smiled innocently.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you really want to mess with three Hokage-level ninja, Himaru-san?" Jiraiya spoke this time. Himaru's look of innocence was replaced with a thin line.

"I defeated Orochi single-handedly. I would have no trouble escaping you and bringing my students along with me."

"You would be hunted down," Tsunade said. Himaru almost snorted.

"Who would you send? No ANBU team would be anymore than a nuisance." This time Tsunade smiled, and it was a very creepy smile.

"Who said I would send ANBU?" Both Jiraiya and Sarutobi turned to Tsunade in confusion, but Himaru paled.

"What was your question again?" Tsunade's creepy smile turned into a much safer smirk.

"Good to see we understand each other. Now, why do you want Naruto to be the kage of your village? Why not you?"

"He'd make a better one than me."

"Really? Judging from your accomplishments you're definitely kage level, if not higher."

"There's more to being a leader than just strength!" Himaru practically spat it out, his eyes darkening with memory for just a moment before quickly composing himself. "Ahem. I apologize, such subject bring up…unpleasant memories." The three legendary shinobi before him had been shocked into silence by his sudden killing intent. "As I was saying, Naruto's better suited to it then I am. He has a certain sense of compassion that I lost a long time ago, and he has… _it_. The Will of Fire, as you call it. I see in him the potential for a man that can change the world. A man whose words will strengthen any warriors resolve, and whose determination and heart will never crumble, forever a light of hope." Himaru's voice softened with each word until it became almost a whisper. "The best I can do is stir that potential awake, and give Naruto the strength to utilize it."

"You do realize that what you're saying is technically treason," Sarutobi said suddenly. Any further words were cut off, however, as a killing intent that put even Kyuubi's to shame entered the room.

**"If you get in my and Naruto's way, I will see all of you to the grave."** A black chakra began to curl around Himaru, gradually enveloping him.

"So you do exist, Karite," Sarutobi said suddenly, shocking both Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Karite?" they echoed. Sarutobi nodded, never taking his eyes off of Himaru.

"There were rumors that the Shinigami had a child with a human woman, and named the boy his heir." A small, sad smile crept onto Sarutobi's face. "I apologize, Karite-san. I only wished to know for sure." Slowly, the dark chakra receded, the killing intent along with it. "If I were still Hokage, I would give you and Naruto the full go ahead. Our village lost our chance with that boy long ago, but it is now Tsunade's decision." He turned his wrinkled face to Tsunade expectantly, awaiting her answer. The Slug Ninja merely snorted.

"Like Hell I'm getting in the way of _that_. All right Hima-Karite-san, do as you wish. I think we have a little idea of why you're doing what you're doing, and I trust you."

"Himaru is fine, Hokage-sama," Himaru said with a grateful bow. "I cast away the name my father gave me years ago." Out of nowhere, Jiraiya coughed, reminding everyone of his presence.

"I'd like to have a little talk with you later, Himaru-san, about a certain threat to Naruto." Himaru nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke, followed quickly by Jiraiya. Once the two were gone, Tsunade leveled a baleful glare at her sensei.

"Demon containers, half-gods…damn you old man." Sarutobi only chuckled before quickly disappearing as well before Tsunade's temper could truly flare. "I hate this job…"

**Well, that was a very multi-faceted chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll try to update again this week, but don't hold your breath. Sorry guys…please read and review anyway.**


	27. Mystery

**Hi again. I'm still sorry I'm such a slow updater, but I also still maintain that his is the Wii's fault. It threw me off my pattern. Yep.**

Naruto sighed as from his position in the tree. "Now which way to the damn village?" he muttered. "Bloody substitution…" A sudden scent cut the blond boy off. 'Hm?' He took a bigger sniff, searching for the strangely pleasant fragrance. Naruto hopped down from the tree to land on the forest floor in a four-legged crouch. The fox boy slowly made his way through the brush and foliage, face nearly planted to the ground.

**'Careful, Kit. The villagers wouldn't think twice about sneaking up on you while you were preoccupied.'**

'Pft. Who do you think you're talking too? I'm totally aware of my-OW!' Naruto collapsed on to his stomach as he smashed into the tree. 'Shut-up.' Naruto could _feel _the Kyuubi's laughter resonate within his mind. Naruto shook it off, punched the tree for good measure, and continued on along the ground. His nose twitched as the scent grew stronger. 'I swear I know this scent…'

"N-N-Naruto-k-kun?" Naruto's blond head poked out of the bush.

"Hinata-chan!" he shouted as he leapt into the air toward her, first landing on his hands before flipping to his feet. "Ta-da!" Naruto gave the Hyuuga heiress his best cheesy smile.

"H-hello, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered, her facing beginning to turn crimson.

"Yeah! Long time no see, Hinata-chan!" Naruto's eyes drifted downward subconsciously. "Eh? Why are you're clothes so dirty?" Hinata blushed even brighter.

"I-I w-w-was t-train-" Hinata's legs gave out then and there, and fell into Naruto's arms, completely unconscious. The fox boy just stood there for a little while in the clearing, nothing but the sound of Hinata's breathing permeated the silence.

"Well, this is most definitely not good," Naruto said as he felt a wave of killing intent wash over him. "In fact, this could even be classified as craptastic."



"What did you wish to speak to me about, Jiraiya-sama?" Himaru and Jiraiya stood on the balcony of the Hokage tower, both gazing out over the village.

"I assume Naruto spoke to you about the Akatsuki?" Himaru nodded.

"Yeah. I was wondering when they'd show up." Jiraiya's head practically came off as it swiveled to face Himaru directly.

"You knew about them?" Himaru nodded again, but smirked this time.

"You're not the only one with sources, Jiraiya-sama. Few things of darkness can escape my notice." The toad sage quirked an eyebrow but said nothing on the matter.

"So what do you know about them?" Himaru's brow furrowed in thought as he leaned on the railing.

"Well, there's about nine of them, not counting minor scouts and such, but you'd be surprised how influential they are."

"Oh?"

"Let me put it this way: The Akatsuki is to anybody who's anybody in the criminal world as becoming a kage is to Naruto. I've met men and women who would risk their lives to join that organization." Himaru chuckled. "Funny thing is, only a hand full even knew their mask purpose." Now Jiraiya was really getting interested. What circles did this man move in?

"And what would that be?"

"Money. They want to use the power of the Bijuu to become the world's only source of military might and basically monopolize war." Jiraiya just stared at him, mouth gaping and completely flabbergasted.

"That's insane!" Himaru's mouth grew into a grin.

"Exactly. That's why I know that isn't their real goal. I mean seriously, we're talking about nine of the world's greatest shinobi and they want to make war a business?" Himaru 'tsked'. "Anyone who believes people who enjoy war that much would want to eliminate the challenge is just stupid. Plus, it's not like they're hurting for money. You should see their digs-"

"Stop a moment." Jiraiya held his hand up. "You've seen their hideout?" Himaru brushed the hair out of his eyes before replying.

"Yeah, but they probably moved. I was invited to join but…" Now Jiraiya was on guard.

'Please don't be a spy…' the old man thought.

"…I think their leader is a yaoi fan boy." In response to this, Jiraiya performed the ancient art of the anime-style fall down.

"A what!?" Himaru nodded once again.

"All of the teams are made up of an effeminate guy and a macho man. Well, I guess Sasori is technically a giant puppet." Jiraiya was utterly slack-jawed. So many unpleasant questions swam through the pervert's unwilling mind, but only one was of any real importance.

"So you know their members?"

"Most of them. There's Deidara from Iwa, Sasori from Suna, Itachi from Konoha, Kisame from Kiri, Zetsu from like Kusa or something, can't remember, and Kakuzu and Hidan from somewhere." Jiraiya was torn from being shocked to being humiliated. He hadn't gathered nearly this much information! Suddenly his aged eyebrows shot up.

"Wait, that's only seven? Who are the other two?" A deep frown etched itself on Himaru's face.

"There's Leader, no one knows who he is, and then there's the psychopathic chic whose name I forcibly repressed. I think she joined when I refused." Himaru snapped his fingers. "You know, how about I just give you some scrolls I have on them? There in my pockets somewhere…" Poor Jiraiya had no idea of the wait he was in for.



Naruto still stood in the middle of the clearing, an unconscious Hyuuga slung over his shoulder and ten unknown shinobi surrounding him. The blond's nose twitched at the scent of snakes. "You guys don't happen to be Kaiki-sennin's ninja, do you?" The only response was one of the ten charging him with a kunai. But at this, Naruto grinned. "Oh, so you're only coming one at a time?" Without letting go of Hinata, the foxy boy grabbed his assailant by the wrist and twisted, earning a sickening crunch as the ninja fell to the ground.

"Die!" Another enemy shouted, and all ten foes jumped Naruto at once.

"Or maybe you're not." The fox boy jumped into the air with all of his strength, and grinned down at the confused mass of enemy shinobi. "Suck on this!" he shouted, forming his hands into a cross. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Dozens of Narutos poofed into existence, and instantly began forming hand seals of their own.

"Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" A rain of chakra globs fell onto the unsuspecting shinobi, setting the whole clearing a blaze for just an instant. The clones vanished with their lost chakra and Naruto calmly fell back down to the charred earth. The horrid stench of burnt flesh filtered through his nose.

"Yuck," he said out loud. The blond looked around mournfully at what he had done. "Such is the life of a shinobi," he mumbled.



There wasn't a sound in the cool night air of Konohagakure, and all business had been concluded for the day. Well, except for two people. A certain white-haired old man was banging his head against the wall as a certain jounin continued to sift through his pockets. "That isn't it," he would mutter at some random scroll every moment or two. Over the past couple hours a mound of items had begun to obscure Himaru's form. What at first had been almost interesting had quickly become mind numbing.

"How much stuff can you possibly have!?" Jiraiya shouted suddenly, every last ounce of patience gone. Himaru never stopped pulling things out of his many pockets.

"I never throw anything away."

"Why the Hell n-" Jiraiya suddenly stopped, and slowly raised on hand to point at something green and fuzzy by Himaru's feet. "What is that? I-I think I saw it move."

"This?" Himaru bent down and picked up the mysterious pile. "This is Lunchimaru. I've been cultivating this guy since I was eight." The lump yipped, and, just as any sensible man would, Jiraiya screamed like a little girl.

"Relax, Jiraiya-sama, he isn't dangerous. Well, unless you're made of decomposable compounds, which I guess you sort of are, so…" Himaru puckered his lips in thought for a moment before shrugging. "Ah well. Here' the scroll. Back into the pocket now, Lunchimaru-chan." Jiraiya's shaking hand barely managed to catch the scroll. Without even checking the parchment, the legendary pervert disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Tch. Wuss." And Himaru so began the recollection of all his treasures.



"FOREHEAD GIRL!?" The only thought that ran through Sakura's mind the moment she heard Ino's telltale screech was predictably, 'Oh shit.' She severely doubted her former rival would take well to the fact that she was currently cuddled up next to the precious jewel know as Sasuke Uchiha.

"This is going to be too troublesome for words." Even Shikamaru was scared of this confrontation, definitely a bad sign.

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH MY SAS-" Ino's jaw went slack as Sasuke decided to take matters into his own hands. He pulled Sakura even closer into him, and locked lips with her, right in front of Ino and everyone else in the restaurant. Ino simply sputtered out meaningless dribble for a good ten seconds before fainting right into Shikamaru's arms. The lazy genius leveled his version of a glare at Sasuke.

"I hope you know that you've turned the rest of my week into a living Hell, Uchiha." Sasuke just smirked before turning back toward the counter.

"Not my problem, Nara." Something akin to a maniacal laugh escaped Shikamaru's throat.

"Oh, but it will be, Sasuke. It will be." With that, Shikamaru transferred Ino to the nearby Chouji, all the while muttering troublesome as the pair walked off.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." Sakura broke the brief silence. The Uchiha Avenger smirked and glanced back down at her.

"The kiss? I was going to do that anyway." Sakura turned as red as the cherries her namesake produces.

"Sasuke-kun…"

**Look, I'm really sorry I take so long to update and my chapters are STILL small, but at least they're good quality, right? Anyway, I'm going to try and get back in the groove of updating once a week, but no promises, especially now that the school year is almost over and things are bound to get really hectic. But I'll definitely update more often come summer. I'll have nothing else to do!**


	28. Home

**People are adding my story to their alert lists. That's awesome! I dedicate this chapter to the hope I'll get back into the loop of updating once a week!**

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A small toad poofed into existence before Naruto.

"What's up, Naruto?" Gamakichi asked, before noticing the girl slung over Naruto's shoulder. "Eh? I didn't know you were kinky like that, Naruto." The blond turned so bright a red it would make a bulls' eyes explode.

"It's not like that, Gamakichi! Its-its- oh just give this to Himaru-sensei!" Naruto thrust a small scroll into the toad's mouth.

"Rabbeber ru bray." Gamakichi hurriedly leapt away into the nearby underbrush. Once the toad was out of sight, a deep sigh escaped Naruto's throat.

"Now what do I do? I can't exactly stroll up to the Hyuuga compound and say 'Look who I found!'"

'**You'll have to take her back to the apartment until she wakes up.**'

'WHAT!? I can't just-I mean-what about the Hyuuga?' Kyuubi rose an eyebrow at his young jailer.

'**You really think they'll come looking for her at your place?'**

'I can't just take her home! What if she wakes up and thinks I did something perverted to her?'

'**Not all women are like that Sakura friend of yours, kit, trust me. Now just do it, I want to go to sleep.'**

'But Kyu-' Naruto felt the connection between them shut down. "Damn fur ball!" he shouted to the night sky. Naruto puffed out his cheeks and sighed. "I to the dump, I guess." With a defeated sigh, the blond launched himself into the nearest tree.



Himaru sat in the jounin lounge, debating on whether to sleep or eat. 'Guess I'll flip on it,' he decided. Himaru cleared the hair out of his eyes with one sweep of his hand. "Anybody got I coin I could flip?" he asked suddenly, but got no reply. Everyone in the room was completely and utterly ignoring him, though a few sent him discreet glares. The only visible sign of Himaru's rage was the furrowing of his eyebrows.

'Must be Kyuubi haters,' he reasoned. Himaru rose off of the couch in one smooth motion. "Alright, if you guys are going to pretend I don't exist, I'll just do the same." He moved forward, first exaggeratedly swinging to the sides to bump the two nearest jounin, and then he 'accidentally' crushed another man's toes before going straight out the door. A malicious smile spread across Himaru's face as he closed the door. They were really cursing up a storm in there.

"You're not making any friends." Normally this is the point where Himaru runs like Hell and Anko gives eager chase, but today Himaru did not run. Anko's lips formed a lecherous smirk. "Finally gave up, huh, Himaru-kun?" She slowly reached for him, but his hand shot up and grabbed her by the wrist. Himaru's head slowly rotated to face her. The bangs that normally covered his eyes now seemed to contain two bright blue flames.

**"I will never be ignored again."** Anko froze completely at the killing intent that poured from Himaru's body. **"I'm not in the mood for games, Anko."** Without even a puff of smoke, Himaru vanished.



Himaru rematerialized in the forest. With a grunt of pain a whirlwind of black chakra erupted from his body. "Damm-it!" The potent chakra vanished, pulled back into the depths of Himaru's body. He glanced around himself, surveying the rough acre of new wasteland. Himaru used one hand to cradle the side of his head. "This can't be a good sign." Once again, he soundlessly vanished deeper into the forest. And right into his student.

"Oof!" Naruto fell backwards as he ran right into his teacher, landing hard on his rear end. Naruto glared with bared canines. "Watch where you're- Oh, Himaru-sensei. What're you doing here?" Himaru ignored the question completely.

"Why do you have a pretty young girl slung over your shoulder, Naruto?" Himaru mockingly frowned at his student. "Is Jiraiya already starting to rub off on you?"

"GAH!" Naruto shouted. "Why is everyone a pervert!?"

"You'll find out in about a year," Himaru muttered. Naruto quirked his head to the side in confusion, but pushed it aside for the moment.

"What was that weird chakra a minute ago, Sensei? I was just about to go hanyou when you bumped into me." Himaru quietly chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"That would have been me." Naruto deadpanned. "What? I'm the son of the freaking death god; you think I'd have only normal chakra? Anyway, give me Hinata. It'll be easier for me to sneak her back into the Hyuuga compound than it would be for you." He paused. "Of course if you wanted to take her home-" Naruto practically threw an unconscious Hinata at Himaru.

"No, that's fine!" Naruto said, or rather almost shouted.

**"Pussy."** Naruto felt the mind link shut down before he could yell back at the fox. At the moment, the blond's face resembled a strawberry. With one final chuckle at his student's expense, Himaru turned to leave.

"Wait. Did Gamakichi reach you yet?"

"One of your little toads? No, why?" Naruto blush vanished and his expression turned serious. "I got attacked by like, ten ninja that smelled lake snakes." Himaru nearly dropped Hinata.

"What? Are you okay?" Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, they were really weak." Naruto's face turned sullen for an instant, and even though he replaced it with another grin, Himaru still noticed. He realized he probably wasn't going to get to interrogate those shinobi. Himaru honestly didn't give a rat's ass of what Naruto did to them, but the blond fox boy did.

"I'm glad you're okay, and I'll definitely do a little investigating after I drop of you girlfriend here. As for now, go get some rest. We've got a mission in the morning." Naruto nodded in obedience.

"Okay, Himaru-sen-SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" The only reply was Himaru's echoing laughter as he disappeared into thin air.



Himaru reappeared atop the Hokage Tower, the Hyuuga heiress hoisted over his shoulder. He scanned the horizon until his eyes landed on a tall, regal building in the distance. "Ten to one that's the place," he muttered before disappearing once again. Himaru reappeared several yards short of the Hyuuga estate. He ducked behind a nearby building and watched the pale-eyed guards carefully.

'Just walking through the gate could bring up some unwanted questions, so…' he searched the walls for a window, and to his delight, found several dotting the manor. With a one-handed seal, Himaru transformed himself into a raven, and Hinata into a dead rat in his claws. His illusionary wings flapped, and took him to the side of the main branch building. He held his breath as he flew over the guards. He hadn't sensed that they had the Byakugan active, but the worry lingered. As he skimmed the side of the building, it was proven the guards truly hadn't noticed him. Himaru let out his held breath and redirected his attention to the windows.

'No, no, no…ha!' He stopped at one particular opening, and though the window was shut the curtains hadn't been drawn. The room itself was surprisingly bland, composed only of a closet, a desk, a bed and a lot of lavender. 'This is my best guess.' Himaru picked the window lock with his beak (finger) and silently transformed back. He gently set Hinata down on her bed and then moved toward a window. 'Wait…' a sly grin spread across Himaru's face. While he was here, he might as well play a little matchmaker. He quietly searched the desk for a piece of paper and a pen, scribbled down a message, folded it up and then placed it on Hinata's pillow. Himaru suppressed a giggle before turning back into a raven and flying out the window.

'Now to collect my students.' Himaru's mood turned grim. 'Because if Orochi's on the move again they need to be protected.' The raven vanished in a sudden burst of speed.



"Where the Hell am I!?" Naruto shouted. Every bird within an acre took to the sky at Naruto's outburst. He had been stuck in the forest for over an hour and he still couldn't find his way out. He was covered in dirt and mud from head to foot, and he was fairly sure he stubbed at least three of his toes.

"Do I want to know what you're covered in?" Naruto's shoulders slumped. He was never going to live this down.

"Hi, Sasuke," he grumbled. He heard the Uchiha avenger sigh from his spot in the trees.

"Follow me, dobe. Himaru-sensei wants us to meet him at his house." Naruto's depressed frown morphed into an eager grin.

"You mean we're finally going to get to see the inside of his house?" Sasuke didn't reply, he just sped off through the canopy. "Woohoo!" Naruto cried out before he too leapt across the trees. Sasuke was apparently in quite a rush, and Naruto was forced to go on all fours in order to keep up. "Damn, Sasuke, you're running like Hell is on your heels! What's the matter?" Even from behind the blond could tell that Sasuke was smirking.

"Can't keep up, dobe?" Naruto growled before pouring chakra into his legs.

"Just try not to swallow too much dust, teme!" Despite his words, Naruto still lagged behind Sasuke. I not time they cleared the trees and entered Konoha proper. Or they would have if Sasuke hadn't suddenly veered to the right. Naruto skidded across the ground on all fours, costing him precious seconds that gave Sasuke an even greater lead. "You did that on purpose!" Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Naruto.

"Duh." The blond ground his teeth together and really put the pedal to the metal. Naruto tore up the dirt beneath his hands and feet and managed to gain back most of the distance he had lost but he still fell short. So when Sasuke suddenly slowed and Naruto shot past him, the blond was suitably surprised.

"Got tired, Sasuke?" he teased as he continued to speed forward, only to notice that Sasuke was going in an entirely different direction. "DAMMIT!" In the heat of the race Naruto had forgotten one important detail: Sasuke was the one who know how to find Himaru-sensei. Naruto pulled from the deepest reserves in his body to catch back up with the Uchiha. Much more and he'd enter one-tail form. Unfortunately, Naruto never noticed the building quickly getting bigger in the distance, nor that Sasuke had come to a complete stop.

Sasuke wasn't exactly surprised when Naruto rushed past him on a collision course with Himaru-sensei's house. "Dobe," he sighed.

"GAH!" Himaru appeared in Naruto's line of sight. He grabbed the speeding Jinchuuriki by his wrist and used Naruto's own force to drive him into the ground. Himaru peered down into the crated he had created.

"Are you okay, Naruto?"

"P-peachy keen." Naruto pulled himself out of the hole and onto his stomach. "Look at all the little ramen cups," he muttered in a daze. Himaru rolled his eyes.

"Sakura, I think we need a medic!" Naruto's half-conscious mind registered the growing sound of footsteps.

"Hi, Sakura-chan," he mumbled as a head of pink entered his blurry vision. The pink fuzz shook from side to side and Naruto felt a pair of hands touching the sides of his head. There was a noise, probably speech, and then his vision cleared. "Hey there, Sakura-chan," he repeated, this time clearly enough for the others to understand him.

"Get-up, Naruto," she ordered. Naruto shifted his weight around a little before swinging himself up to a sitting position. With one more push he fully righted himself.

"Alright, let's go!" Naruto pumped the air with his fist. Everyone else sweat dropped.

"We're already here, Naruto," Himaru said. It took the blond ninja about three seconds to process this information, and he flew from one emotion to another in record time. The first emotion was embarrassment, but the second was excitement.

"You mean that's your house, Himaru-sensei?" Naruto pointed to the nearby building and his grin dulled. "It's kind of…boring." The house was mostly grey and black, and other then being outside the village it was no different than any other home. Himaru smirked.

"What were you expecting? A flame lit path to the door and skeletons hanging off the gutter?" All three genin were silent, and this time only Himaru sweat dropped. "Anywaaay, let's get you inside." He hurriedly led them to the door and pushed it open. The inside of the house was actually pretty spacious, or at least it would have been if the entire floor wasn't covered in a sea of junk and paraphanelia.

"…Yikes, Himaru-sensei," Sakura finally said. "How do you get across?" Himaru took on step onto the junk.

"Same way you walk on water." The three genin just blinked at their sensei. Sasuke was the first to snap out of it and follow their teacher. Then Naruto and finally Sakura.

"Why do you have so much stuff?" Naruto asked. Himaru shrugged.

"I like stuff. Plus it gives a place for the security to hide." All three of the kids started at him. "What? You didn't think I took you here just for kicks, did you? Anyway, as I've already explained to Sasuke and Sakura, you guys will be staying here with me for awhile until we get his business with Orochi sorted out."

"Cool!" Naruto was off like greased lightning to explore.

"If you see anything that looks even slightly alive, don't , I repeat, DON'T touch it!" Himaru shouted after him, actually causing the young kage-to-be to freeze for a moment.

"WHAT!?"

"It's the security, remember?"

**'That sensei of yours scares me sometime, kit.'**

'Me too, Kyuubi, me too.'

**Short, but at least it's finally here. Don't worry though, I think I'm starting to get back in to his fic. Well, let's hope so at least. For the next chapter: will Team 7 survive in their teacher's house, or will it prove to be more dangerous than Orochi? Please read and review.**


	29. The House

**All right, back again. Now let's see how the genin fair in Himaru's humble abode…**

"Himaru-sensei, where are our rooms?" Sakura finally asked.

"You and Sasuke are sharing the first room to the right upstairs." Himaru couldn't help but chuckle at the bright red couple. "Relax you're not sharing the same bed." Sasuke and Sakura's emotional reprieve didn't last long. "Unless of course, you WANT to share a bed."

"NOT A DUST BUNNY!" A loud explosion shook the two genin out of their embarrassment, literally. They fell on their butts into the junk, and Sasuke was almost swallowed up by the mass of trinkets.

"What was that?" Sakura asked as she righted herself and helped the utterly humiliated Uchiha heir back out of the junk. Himaru didn't answer, he just sighed and shook his head.

"I JUST told him not to touch anything that looked alive." With a slow, agitated walk Himaru made his way toward the explosion's origin.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah, Sakura?"

"Are you scared, too?"

" …Yeah."



"AAAAHHHHHH!" Naruto clung to the furry beast for dear life. He'd stepped on its fuzzy tail moments ago, and now it was pissed. After realizing that being on top of the creature was preferable to being in front of or under it, Naruto leapt atop it. Unfortunately, the giant "dust bunny" did not approve of being ridden. In fact, it was now ramming into the wall in an attempt to get rid of Naruto.

"DUSTY!" The being came to a complete and sudden stop, which in turn rocketed Naruto off its back, threw the wall and then skidding across the hallway. Himaru wanted to bang his head against the wall. Why was Naruto being so much trouble today? With a quick pat on the belly, Dusty settled back down into the sea of stuff, leaving Himaru to contemplate if bringing the genin here was such a good idea after all.

"I suppose as long as they'd don't find the raptors everything should be o-"

"GIANT SCALY THINGS!"

"Oh, Hell." Himaru dove through Naruto's hole in the wall, making a mental note to fix it eventually. He followed the shouts, screams and roars down the hallway. Naruto was backed up against the wall by a herd of growling dinosaurs. The head lizard growled one last time and then lunged at the blond before disappearing in a poof of smoke. The other raptors barely had time to look puzzled before they all vanished in puffs of smoke.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Himaru asked, placing one hand of the demon container's shoulder. Naruto's head slowly craned toward him.

"This place is AWESOME!" Naruto hopped back to his feet and started off running, but a hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Whoa, there, buddy. YOU are staying in MY room." Naruto paused for a moment before grinning like a maniac.

"COOL! Lead the way, Himaru-sensei!" The dark-haired half god pushed his bangs out of his eyes and sighed. Himaru stared walking, his had still clenched around Naruto's shirt. "Uh, I can walk on my own, Himaru-sensei." Himaru didn't say a word, but only continued dragging Naruto back across the hall. He pulled open a door and tossed Naruto inside. In a single, lightning fast motion, Himaru closed and locked the door from the outside.

"Well, that should give me a good fifteen minutes of peace before he figures out how to pick the lock." Himaru stretched his arms back and yawned. He strolled back down the stairs and plunged both hands down into the junk. "Here we go." Himaru focused chakra into his arms and braced his feet as firmly as he could on all the stuff covering the floor. He grunted, and unearthed a dusty sofa. He heaved the furniture back up the stairs and placed it in front of his room's door. With a chakra-enhanced blow, most of the dust flew off, and Himaru settled himself down onto the couch for a nap.



Naruto stared at the wooden door for several seconds. He'd just heard the click, and didn't need to check the knob to know that he was locked in. Not that that stopped him from rattling the door for a good minute. The blond eventually gave up and turned his attention back to the room. Other than having several dozen drawers, closets and only kami-knows how many trinkets spread across the floor, it was a normal room. Frankly, Naruto was more than a little disappointed.

'For someone so cool, Himaru-sensei has a really boring house. Well, except for that giant psycho bunny thing. And then there were those giant lizards things. Okay, so maybe boring isn't the right word.' Suddenly, a mischievous grin spread across Naruto's lips. 'With all this junk, I bet Himaru-sensei is hiding a lot of cool stuff.'

**'Careful. I don't want to find out what kind of 'security' this guy has.'** Naruto shrugged the fox's concern away.

'Don't worry so much, Kyuubi. I've got everything under control. Besides, are you curious?' The fox was silent, and Naruto knew that he'd won. 'Alright, now on with the exploration!' And so Naruto began yanking open every drawer or cupboard he could find. 'Ooh! This looks promising!' In his hands Naruto held a small scroll. He wasn't sure why, but something about it seemed to call out for him…

**'Snap out of it, kit!'** Naruto shook his head and dropped the scroll.

"What the Hell was that?" he asked, this time out loud.

**'Something you shouldn't be tampering with. The chakra surrounding that scroll is the chakra of a god.' **Naruto gulped. Even he didn't want to mess with something like that.

'Why would Himaru-sensei have something like that?' It took the Kyuubi several seconds to find his voice.

**'Um, maybe because he's the son of a GOD!?' **Naruto covered his ears on reflex.

'Alright, alright, geez!' Naruto reached to put the scroll back where he found it, when a hand gripped his shoulder. Naruto attempted to whirl on the person behind him, but killing intent froze him in place.

"Naruto." Himaru's voice came out slow and angry. "Do not continue to look through my things. There are artifacts here even the Kyuubi won't recognize." The blond gulped again and managed a stiff nod. "Good." Now I'm trusting you to stay in here and not cause trouble, got it?" Another silent nod. The killing intent vanished, as did Himaru's hand on Naruto's shoulder.He reached down and stashed the scroll into one of his many pockets. "Feel free to explore through the stuff on the ground, but anything in a drawer or cupboard is off limits." Not even a second later, Himaru's presence vanished from the room.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled once he was alone. Half-heartedly, he began to sift through the trinkets scattered across the floor.



Hinata's eye cracked open, and she found herself in her bed. 'How did I get here? I was in the forest, training, when I bumped into Naruto-kun…' Hinata blushed a deep crimson as she realized that she had fainted again, and she blushed even harder when she realized he must have carried her here. She was sure her father would wonder why his daughter was brought home unconscious. 'I hope Naruto-kun isn't in trouble…' Reluctantly, Hinata used her hands to push herself out of bed and face her father's interrogation, when she felt a slip of paper. Curious, she looked down and noticed the note. After a brief pause, she picked it up and began to read.

"Dear, Hinata-san.

You probably don't know me, but I'm Himaru, Naruto's sensei. I was the one who carried you home last since I assumed you didn't want your father finding out.:) Anyway, I understand you have a crush on Naruto."

Hinata blushed again and could barely stand to read the rest of the letter.

"Unfortunately, as much as I care for him, Naruto can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. If you want him to notice you, you have to be a bit more bold about it."

Hinata's blush lightened and she frowned a bit. She already knew that.

"But let me give you a few pointers. Considering how much you stalk him," Hinata's face felt like it was on fire, "you're probably aware of his obsession with ramen. I'm actually here to warn you that going through his stomach is NOT the way to his heart. It's a little complicated, but all of Naruto's first friends, i.e., the Sandaime, the ramen chef and his daughter and Iruka-san, became his friends by caring for him. More specifically, they fed him ramen. So Naruto's subconscious had determined ramen to be a sign of friendship and familial love, not 'love' love." Hinata blinked in surprise. She supposed that made sense, but it still seemed awfully strange.

"If you want to be his girlfriend," Hinata blushed again. Naruto's sensei was even more frank than the blond he taught, "You have to do something no one else has done for him before. The easiest way to do this actually does start by just becoming his friend, but I believe you've already achieved that. The second step is to deliver the symbol his subconscious will register as a symbol of 'love' love. You either have to say it out loud, or…you have to kiss him, probably on the lips.:)" Hinata nearly fainted again. How could she just walk up to Naruto and kiss him?

"Good luck!

Sincerely, Himaru."

Hinata's whole body was shaking, and her face was beet red. But something had wormed its way into her mind, something strong and confident. Funny how Hinata never noticed the faint swirling pattern behind the words.



Sasuke sighed and stretched himself out on one of the beds. It had been an interesting day, and he was a bit exhausted from all the training he had done earlier. In fact, Sasuke wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but…an uncharacteristic blush appeared on the Uchiha's face. He usually just slept in his boxers, but Sakura was only a few feet away.

'Be a man, Sasuke, it's not like she hasn't seen you with your shirt off before,' Sasuke told himself. But back then he'd been injured from Himaru's insane training, now he was just sleeping. Right next to Sakura. He shook his head clear of any dirty thoughts. They were in totally separate beds. 'We just happen to be in arms reach…' Sasuke rolled onto his side to hide his crimson cheeks. 'Damn puberty!'

On the other bed, Sakura was having similar thoughts. 'What if Sasuke-kun thinks my pajamas are silly?'

'**What if he thinks they're sexy, huh!?'** Inner Sakura shouted, almost permanently staining Sakura's face red.

'Where do I even change?' She couldn't do it right in front of Sasuke, and Himaru-sensei had forgotten to tell them where the bathroom was.

'**Do it under the covers, you wuss!'**

'That's still in front of Sasuke-kun!' The two halves of Sakura bickered and fought for several minutes, escalating to the point where Sasuke could swear he heard her mumbling curses under her breath.

Sasuke chose to ignore his girlfriend's mad mumblings, and instead focused his incredible, genius mind-power to solving his own predicament. 'Very well then,' he thought. Immediately, he pulled the covers over himself and fell asleep still in his day clothes.

A peaceful lull came over Himaru's house as the whole of Team 7 went to bed. Minus the odd growl or hiss coming from outside their doors, of course. The hours passed by, Sakura and Sasuke slept peacefully in their clothes, and Himaru and Naruto were fast asleep and snoring like wild bears.



Dawn peeked through the windows, attempting to wake Team 7 out of their uneventful slumber. "GOOD MORNING, KONOHAGAKURE!" And if the dawn didn't do it, Naruto sure as Hell did. Yes, after the fusing with the Kyuubi had started, Naruto gained one of the most hated qualities a person could have. He became… a morning person. The sudden crack of a fist meeting a skull resounded throughout the house.

"Sorry, Naruto," Himaru yawned. "I thought you were my alarm clock."

"Ouchie…" Slowly, the shinobi shuffled themselves out of their rooms, and into the hallway. Naruto was still re-wrapping his arms, mumbling something about stupid bandages. His nose twitched and he walked closer to Sakura and Sasuke, taking in a deep breath as he did so.

"Dude, did you guys sleep in your clothes?" The only answer Naruto got was the faint blush on Sakura's cheeks. His lips stretched into a sly grin. "Don't tell me you guys were embarrassed to-" Sakura fist shut the blond up rather effectively. "Not even an hour awake and I've already been hit twice…this is not a good sign." Sakura ignored him in favor of questioning their sleepy sensei.

"Himaru-sensei, where's the bathroom? I really need to take a shower." He never even opened his eyes as he picked up all three genin, and led them to a section of floor beneath a dangling light bulb. Himaru set them down and then waddled over to the bulb. He reached up, grabbed the wired, and pulled. The floor beneath the genin opened, and they fell down two separate tubes, one for Sakura and one for Sasuke and Naruto.

"Cannonball," he muttered before leaping down the boy's half. Himaru greeted the warm water below with a full on tackle, and splashed his sputtering students in a wave of water.

"What the Hell, Himaru-sensei!?" Naruto shouted as he struggled to clear the steaming water out of his eyes.

"Cover your eyes, boys." Sasuke and Naruto just stared.

"Wha-" Himaru punched the sidewall and a massive waterfall of bright blue soap came upon them. Naruto didn't even have time to scream before the pool starting spinning. The waves rocked and spun them around like rag dolls. Occasionally, Naruto and Sasuke would collide into each other, but Himaru never seemed to have that problem. After several minutes of soppy wet torture, the water drained out of the room, leaving the genin and Himaru soaked to the bone.

"C-cold," Naruto muttered.

"Not for long," Himaru replied, and just a moment later the walls and ceiling began to glow. Steam blanketed their vision as the water from their clothes and skin evaporated. "Shut your eyes and mouth," Himaru whispered. For a long time they just sat there in the intense heat, steam coming off their bodies in waves. "I suppose this is sufficiently dry." At his words, the whole room rocked back and forth. The wall ahead of them spit in two, and the three were rocketed outside. They hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Well, that was bracing!" Himaru stood up and waltzed across the grass. "You're probably thirsty. There's a lake right over here."

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke grunted, spitting out a piece of grass.

"Eeek!" A pink flash bolted past them to the lake. Naruto and Sasuke made it over in time to see Sakura just pulling her head out of the water. With a few quick hand motions, she neatened her hair into its normal shape.

"What's the matter, Sakura-chan? You're hair get all frizzy in the dryer?" Sakura slugged Naruto hard upside the head.

**I'm sorry, I know that last bit was kind of sexist, but it really does seem like the kind of thing Sakura would do, right? Anyway, please read and review. The explanation for Himaru's bathing methods will be in the next chapter.**


	30. Missions Start

**All right, here we go. Mission time! Oh, and X Ninja, I'm afraid I don't speak Japanese, and I recently lost the link to my online translator. Sorry! Now onward!**

"Alright, team, we have to report to the Hokage in about an hour for missions, but that gives us enough time to eat breakfast." Himaru started walking back toward the house, but-

"Sensei, um, why did you put us through a giant washing machine?" Sakura asked.

"Like I said, we're in a bit of a hurry. Besides, It's not like you brought clean clothes with you, so this killed two birds with one stone."

"You're weird, Himaru-sensei." The jounin shrugged it off.

"Better than being normal." Himaru unsheathed a key from one of his many pockets. "Now come on, I'm hungry." His team rushed in after him. "Close the door behind you, Naruto, I don't want anything escaping.

"Uh…sorry, Himaru-sensei." The half-god stuffed the key back into his pants and hurried across the sea of junk.

"Just take a seat on anything solid looking. I'll be right back with food."

"Do you need any help, Himaru-sensei?" Sakura offered, but their teacher had already disappeared down the hall.

"Awesome!" The floor of trinkets rumbled as Naruto unearthed an old, dusty recliner. He flopped down into it, forcing a cloud of dust into the air.

"Naruto (cough) no baka!" Sakura wheezed. The blond grinned sheepishly.

"Heh, sorry Sakura-chan."

"Tch, Dobe." Naruto blew Sasuke a big, fat raspberry before grinning again.

"Now all I need is a big fluffy cat and a desk!" He paused. "Do you think Himaru-sensei has a cat?"

"He has just about everything else," Sasuke replied. He bent down and forced his way into the junk. "Whoa-agh!" Sasuke disappeared down into the sea of knick-knacks.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura scrambled to the spot Sasuke had fallen through. "Sasuke-kun!" she called again. Ten feet over, Naruto's chair began to shake violently.

"What the-!" What appeared to be a tower of dust erupted from underneath the chair. The recliner tipped over and rolled until Naruto was trapped underneath. "Help, the chair's trying to eat me!" The seat flew through the air and slammed into the ceiling. "I'm safe!" Naruto shouted, but the fox-boy forgot a little thing called gravity, and two seconds later he was trapped again.

Meanwhile, the tower of dust shook itself clean and revealed a very disgruntled avenger. "I hate this house."

"I'm still being attacked here!" Sakura giggled at both of them.

"Naruto, it's just a normal chair. Sasuke-kun tipped it over on you." The 'demon-chair' stopped shaking and Naruto quickly pushed it off of him.

"I totally knew that." Neither of the blond's teammates were looking at him. "I did! I was just testing you!"

"Breakfast's rea-" Himaru paused in mid-step. "Why are you all so dusty?"



After a simple breakfast of cereal and eggs, Team 7 found its way to the Hokage's office. "The jounin instructors are on missions because of our current manpower situation, so Team 7 is going to be broken up temporarily to join the other genin squads."

"Didn't you receive my notice about Orochi, Hokage-sama? I don't think-" Tsunade held up a hand to silence the jounin.

"I assure you the situation is under control, Himaru-san. Now as I was saying, Naruto, you will be joining Team 8 on a C-rank mission. Meet them at the gate in one hour for a debriefing."

"That's Hinata-chan and Dog-boy's team, right? Awesome!" Tsunade completely ignored the younger blond's outburst.

"Sasuke, you will be joining Team 10 on a C-rank mission. Meet them at the gate in one hour for a debriefing." Sasuke eyes turned into saucers.

"That's Ino and Shikamaru's team…"

"Yes, Shikamaru specifically requested you for this mission."

"He requested Sasuke, so… that means Shikamaru got promoted to chuunin! That's not fair!" Naruto pouted and crossed his arms over his chest in indignation.

"That bastard…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Eh? That's a bit severe, don't you think? Sasuke? Sasuke?" The Uchiha gave no response.

'I should have seen this coming,' he cursed in his head. 'Shikamaru said he'd get revenge and now who knows how long I'll be stuck with Ino!' Meanwhile, Sakura wasn't too thrilled either.

'Sasuke-kun's going to be stuck with Ino-pig on a mission!'

**'What are you worried about? Sasuke-kun would never touch that pig!'**

"Ahem!" The genin shot their attention back to Tsunade. "As I was saying… Sakura, today you begin your training under Shizune and myself, since there are no current missions in need of a junior medic."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Right then, dismissed! Except you, Himaru." Naruto opened his mouth to tease their sensei, but Sakura covered his mouth and forcefully dragged the blond out the door.

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" Himaru asked, his facial expression straining to grow more innocent looking as Tsunade leveled a forceful stare on him.

"There have been a couple complains logged against you by some other jounin. Apparently you were 'rude to your peers' and 'broke three of Ginzumaru's toes'."

"Who's Ginzumaru?"

"Some jounin. Now care to explain yourself?" Himaru shrugged, his faked innocent expression long gone.

"They thought they could get away with treating me like they do my student. I showed them otherwise. If they continued to bug you, I can always making it look like an 'accident'."

"I don't want to know whether or not you're kidding, do I?"

"Probably not." Tsunade sighed.

"I'm afraid I have to give you some punishment." Himaru brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Fine. What is it?"

"I'm assigning you an A-rank mission with some of the other jounin, with docked pay of course."

"That's all?" Himaru was honestly surprised. He'd expected community service, or some sort of formal apology.

"You're teammates are Maito Gai, Hatake Kakashi, and Mitarashi Anko."

"I'll get you for this, Hokage-sama." Tsunade brushed off the minor killing intent with a flick of her hand.

"Whatever. Just go meet them down in the jounin lobby for a debriefing." Himaru nodded slightly, before vanishing in a poof of smoke. "Finally," Tsunade moaned and reached under her desk, to grasp only air. "MY SAKE!" The whole tower reverberated with Tsunade's rage.

Himaru reappeared by the lobby door, just missing the shockwave that ran through the entire building. Ignoring the screams of confusion from downstairs, he mentally prepped himself. 'I shouldn't worry. Even she wouldn't try to jump me on a mission, right? Right?' A solid lump formed in the bottom of his gut. 'Time to find out.' Himaru gripped the knob and twisted it.

"HELLO, MOST YOUTHFUL HIMARU-SAN!" The black-haired jounin nearly sighed in relief. He couldn't even think of a bigger turn-off then Gai without traumatizing himself, no offense to the cheerful taijutu specialist.

"Greetings, Gai-san, Kakashi-san…A-Anko-san." Kakashi shrugged in response, but Anko just smirked. The slightest of shivers shot down Himaru's back. "O-okay then, so what IS our mission, exactly?"

"A sizeable band of C-rank and low B-rank missing ninja has been located near the northern border," Kakashi explained, his eye never leaving his book. "We've been hired by the nearby villages to break them up.

"Do we know anything about their exact numbers?" Himaru asked, his tone borderline…something. For the life of him Kakashi couldn't quite identify it.

"There are approximately twenty C-rank shinobi, and probably only about three or four B-rank shinobi." Himaru smiled, and on the outside it looked like one of mere contentment, but on the inside it was sheer excitement.

'I suppose there's nothing wrong with a little…recruiting.' He briefly wondered if Tsunade had given him this mission as a purposeful favor, but decided that it was unlikely. "That doesn't sound too hard. If I may inquire, you are the leader of this mission, Kakashi-san?"

"Is that a problem?" the Copy-nin replied lazily, but with an edge of hostility tipping his words. Himaru held up his hands in a submissive gesture.

"No, of course not, just curious." 'If it was a problem you'd be dead.' He paused. 'Damn, these urges are getting worse.'

"Can we go, already?" Anko asked suddenly, reminding them all of her presence.

"YES! WE MUST LEAVE WHILE OUR FLAMES BURN BRIGHTEST! ARE YOU PACKED, HIMARU-SAN?"

"Probably," he answered. All three of the other jounin gave him funny looks. "I seal a lot of stuff in my pockets. I'm almost sure I'll have a sleeping bag somewhere."

"You can always share mine," Anko purred, but the moment was ruined.

"YOSH, HOW YOUTHFUL OF YOU TO OFFER HIM YOUR EXTRA SLEEPING BAG!"

"That's not what I-"

"Let's not shatter his illusions right now," Kakashi cut in. "Now let's just go." Kakashi was the first on the move, and the others quickly chased after. Their speed carried them out of the village, and in moments they were riding across the treetops.

"YOSH! IF I CANNOT REACH THE BORDER IN A SINGLE DAY I WILL RUN 100 LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE!"

"Is he always like this?" Gai's form was already shrinking into a tiny dot.

"You get used to it," Kakashi replied, but he stepped up his own speed. Lest he be left behind with Anko, Himaru also raced ahead. He did his best to pretend Anko _wasn't _checking him out from behind.

"I have to admit I'm impressed, Himaru-san," Kakashi said. "Not a lot of shinobi can go at this pace without at least sweating a little." Himaru forced a smile.

"I ran a lot when I was a kid." Kakashi's one visible eyebrow quirked up.



"Hey guys!" Naruto practically skipped to meet Team 8. "So what's the big mission!?" His whole face was split by a wide, toothy grin.

"We are to deliver a set of scrolls to a series of nearby villages," Shino answered. Naruto's face sagged at the information.

"This sounds a lot more like D-ranked mission to me."

"Nuh-uh," Kiba shot. "There's been a big increase in reports of vicious animal attacks. Something's got the beasties real riled up." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"N-N-Naruto-kun, K-Kiba-kun?"

"What's up, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. The Hyuuga heiress raised one slender finger and pointed outside the gate.

"Sh-Shino-kun's already left."

"WHAT?!"



"Hi, Sasuke-kun!" The Uchiha felt his eye twitch. Ino had cut her hair short, like Sakura. Damn she was persistent.

"Hn," he muttered, his already crimson eyes boring holes into the back of Shikamaru's head.

"This is so troublesome," he yawned. Sasuke could sense an underlying humor to his voice. "But we've got to go chase off some bandits in a town a couple miles off. What a pain…" Chouji's constant munches seemed to accent every one of Shikamaru's words.

'This is going to suck, SO badly,' Sasuke groaned on the inside, outwardly keeping a cool, apathetic expression. The sword at his side pulsed with chakra, sending a message up to his brain. 'At least I'll have something to vent my anger out on.' Those poor bandits would have no idea what hit them.



"All right, Sakura, are you ready?" Shizune asked. Sakura nodded and was led into a large classroom. "Here you'll undergo some tests to see if Tsunade-sama judges you worth her time," Shizune stated, a light of pity in her eyes and voice.

"I'm ready, Shizune-sensei."

"Good. First, there's a paper test." She pulled a paper and pen from inside her robe.

**'PEACE OF CAKE, CHA!'**

**Again, I apologize for my short chapters, I'm just not having much inspiration for this fic right now, whereas I'm having to stave of ideas for another fic and a book I'm currently writing in the real world. Not to mention school's not so far away anymore. Well, please read and review. Sigh**


	31. Missions Continue

**Someone asked me where I got the translation for Sasuke's sword, Ryuchi. Put simply, I combined the word for dragon with the word for blood (chi can mean like sixteen different things). Also, has anyone else heard of the supposed Naruto MMORPG?**

"So where are we heading first?" Naruto asked. Shino remained silent, and for a moment Naruto didn't say anything. "Shino? Woo-hoo, Shino? Earth to Bug-boy?" Still there was no reply. "Okay, if that's how you want to play it, then fine." Naruto stopped walking to fall behind the rest of Team 8. Both Kiba and Hinata slowed as well and looked back at him.

"N-Naruto-k-kun?" Without another word, Naruto inhaled deeply and put his fingers to his lips. A whistle so shrill pierced the air every animal in the forest had to cover their ears in pain.

"Naruto stop that!" Kiba shouted, as both he and Akamaru were rendered helpless because of their natural sensitivity. Nonetheless the whistle continued until Naruto was blue in the face. Finally he had to stop for air, but Shino remained stoic, calmly walking farther and farther ahead.

"Damn, what is that guy!"

"N-Naruto-kun?" He refocused his attention on the timid Hyuuga.

"What?"

"T-that's Shino-k-kun's b-bug clone. H-he went b-back bec-cause he th-thinks we-we're b-being f-f-followed," she whispered.

"What!? Why the Hell didn't he tell anyone!"

"He did you idiot, you just weren't paying attention!" Kiba growled and lunged at Naruto's throat.

"Gah! Bad dog boy!"

"You cocky bastard!" The two rolled around in the dirt, kicking up dust and debris in a long trail across the road. Sudden, sharp laughter broke the two apart.

"With idiots like you for ninja, it's a wonder Konoha hasn't' fallen yet." Up ahead where Shino's clone used to be, were three shinobi garbed with the hitai-ates of Kumogakure. "I guess your little bug friend was the only competent one of you," the apparent leader said, a sneer plastered on his tanned face.

"What'd you do with Shino?" Kiba shouted. The Kumo ninja shrugged.

"Giichi's probably killed him by now. Now which of you are carrying the scrolls?"

"Like you'll ever find out!" Naruto barked, already assuming the stance for his Akaken.



"All right, here's the pl-" Sasuke cut the young chuunin off.

"Out of the way, Shikamaru." He gave the Uchiha an incredulous stare.

"There are a lot of bandits, Sasuke, you can't just-" Sasuke grabbed the team leader by the throat, and hoisted him into the air.

"I just spent two straight days turning down Ino's flirts, offers and occasionally demands," he hissed right into Shikamaru's ear. "I'm going to vent my frustration now, pity to _anyone _who happens to be in the way." There was an almost inaudible gulp, and Shikamaru nodded. "Good." The boy-genius was dropped on his bum, and Sasuke stalked off toward the small fort, eyes ablaze and sword drawn.

"Shikamaru!" Ino cried. "What do you think you're doing sending Sasuke-kun out alone like that?" This time it was Shikamaru's turn to glare.

"I wasn't exactly give a choice, Ino," he ground out, then sighed. "This is so troublesome." For a while the only sound was of Chouji chowing down on his chips, and then the explosions started. Pillars of fire billowed out from the camp, and the screams reached out to even their hiding spot. Then for a moment there was silence, and soon the black dot that was Sasuke came striding back.

"What the heck did she do?" Shikamaru mumbled as Sasuke walked right past him.



Shizune was staring wide-eyed at the written test. This was impossible. According to Himaru's report of her training, Sakura had only been training as a medic ninja for a little over a month. Yet here she had answered questions perfectly that would have stumped any second year med student. Even Tsunade would have accepted getting half the answers right as passing. Next to the one hundred percent, Shizune wrote a quick note. 'Genius-level learning speed and possibly a photographic memory.' The master medic-ninja leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling. 'If she did this well on the written test, how must she be handling the lab portions?'

"Shizune-sensei!" She almost had to sigh in relief when she heard Sakura's voice from behind the door.

"What is it, Sakura-san? Is there a problem with the specimens?"

"Um, no. I'm kind of done." There was dead silence.

"W-what?" Shizune asked, sure she must have heard wrong.

"I said I'm done, Shizune-sensei."

"You healed six wounded rabbits, three birds and a dog in," Shizune did a double-take on the clock, "a little over ten minutes?" This time Sakura paused.

"Um… yes? Did I do something wrong?" Shizune was already out the door and past the pink-haired kunoichi by the time she'd finished talking. Sakura nervously peeked her head around the corner of the training room as Shizune hurriedly checked out each and every one of the animals.

'This is unreal,' she muttered in her head. Granted, the animals were only bruised and scraped, but it still should have taken more than a minute per animal to fix them up so perfectly for some inexperienced genin.

"Naruto and Sasuke got beat up a lot," Sakura said, as if she could read Shizune's mind.

"Sakura," Shizune began, the turned her face back to Sakura and smiled, "we'll begin your proper training immediately."

"Yes!" Sakura leapt into the air, screaming in joy.

**'THAT WAS EASY!' **Inner Sakura shouted. **'BRING IT ON!' **



"It's about time to set up camp," Kakashi said, eyeing the dropping sun.

"I SAY WE KEEP GOING! THE ENEMY IS ONLY THIRTY MILES AWAY!" Anko's fist swiftly shut Gai up.

"I want to sleep!" she growled. "We had to keep running at your insane pace for hours, now shut the Hell up or we'll see if that spandex is too tight for a snake to slip through."

"YOSH, I BELIEVE RESTING IS A VERY YOUTHFUL IDEA!"

"Dibs on first watch," Himaru said.

"Granted," Kakashi said without so much as a second thought before unrolling his sleeping bag.

"Wake me up for second," Anko said, then added, "however you want." Himaru completely and utterly ignored her.

"Good night everyone," he said with an innocent smile.

"YOUTHFUL DREAMS TO ALL!" And then Gai was out like a light. For a few moments Himaru stared out into the sky, waiting for his teammates to fall asleep.

"Reminds me of Mom…" he mumbled as he stared into the sunset.

Flashback:

_A young boy's hands were clenched into the ram seal as he focused as much chakra as he could._

"_Dear! It's time for dinner!" The boy's concentration slipped, and his human guise shattered. He rushed into the house with inhuman speed._

_"I almost got it, Mom! I can almost hold it!" A young woman gazed down at him with a sad smile. She wore an apron, and had a sort of sharp, almost elfish face. Her eyes were obscured by long purple bangs, despite the rough bun at the back of her head._

_"You shouldn't stay out late training. It's almost sunset and it wouldn't be good for you to get caught in the dark." The boy dropped his face; they went through this almost every night now._

_"But if I can look human, they'll accept me, won't they?" A gentle hand brushed over his face._

_"Of course they will. One day everyone will accept you for the wonderful boy you are, Karite."_

End Flashback

Himaru punched the side of his head. 'Dumb memories, got to focus on the present.' Himaru stretched once before forming a familiar cross shape seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he whispered, and a single clone sprung into silent existence. The two Himarus nodded to each other before the original headed off in the direction of the missing ninja.

He blurred through the forest, calling upon traces of black chakra to propel him through the woods. Himaru let killing intent slip here and there. He wanted to make sure the missing ninja knew he was coming and that he knew that they knew. He made the scene in a grand display of power, his chakra whipping up the grass and rocks so fiercely that they pierced the rough cabins of the campsite. Himaru counted twenty-one shinobi as the poured out. 'Dang, Konoha has good information.' Out loud he spoke in his deepest, most threatening voice. Something that would make any mortal just sound ridiculous. "I assume the three behind me are the other leaders?" Every single missing ninja froze.

"Now step out in front of me, and I won't hurt you."

"Die Konoha!" An Iwa-nin from the back and two more from the front leapt at him. Moments before the two in front threw their kunai, and the one in back finished his jutsu, a plain black scythe appeared in Himaru's hands. Each shinobi fell to the ground in two separate pieces.

"That really wasn't what I meant," Himaru said dryly. He strummed his fingers along the side of the scythe as he we waited for the other two shinobi behind him to march by to rejoin the group. "Especially since I'm not even a Konoha ninja." Himaru ran his fingers across his hitai-ate, and the leaf symbol faded into a spiral of blades. "Who here wants to join the Village Hidden in Hell?" Quiet murmurs ran through the group. Finally, a young Kiri kunoichi only a few years older than Naruto stepped forward.

"What is this new village's views on Blood-Lines?" she asked with an unwavering voice. Himaru allowed a sincere smile to grace his lips.

"We accept all kinds. Absolutely no one is rejected from the village for powers beyond their control, so says our soon to be kage." There were a few more murmurs.

"What if we say no?" came from the crowd. Himaru shrugged.

"Then you can go on your merry way. But I warn you; there are three true Konoha jounin on their way here to take you out. Apparently some of you have been bad boys and girls." There was more whispering, some angry this time.

"What do you say on… questionable interrogation methods?" Someone asked, his exact meaning clear.

"All for it." As soon as the man and his companion smiled, they dropped dead from kunai in their throats. Himaru glared at the whole company, sending shockwaves of killing intent into the group. "Anyone else here a rapist?" he growled. Anyone who could still move shook his or her heads. "Good." The killing intent wafted away. Himaru waited for a few moments, until someone gathered up enough nerve to ask another question.

"What about alliances and man power?" asked one of the leaders up front.

"Ah, a sensible one. Good," Himaru said. "We are allied with Otogakure and very possible Sunagakure in the near future. Apparently the shinobi had heard of the complex politics between Konoha and the two villages, as he spoke again.

"So what is your position with Konoha?"

"Well, the Sandaime, the Godaime and Jiraiya of the Sannin seem to like us enough, but the old farts on the council may be reluctant." Even as he spoke, the kunoichi from earlier marched up to him, as well as an even younger and smaller kunoichi.

"Do you really accept anyone?" the small one said, barely above a whisper. Himaru smiled as he sensed a familiar chakra.

"Yes, we even have a few people like you with us already." Himaru's voice went as soft as it could, and he patted her on the shoulder. "Even our leader," he whispered, and the girl's breath hitched in her throat as she fought of crying. She ran into the arms of the older kunoichi and they just held on to each other.

"If the cuties in this sausage fest are in then so am I," another young shinobi said as he strolled up to Himaru. Slowly, one by one, the crowd in front of Himaru shrank until all but one remained. It was the B-ranked ninja who had asked about alliances.

"How do we know this isn't just a trap?" All the shinobi behind Himaru froze. In response, a dark, wicked chakra blazed around Himaru.

**"Because if I wanted you dead or captured than it would be so."** After another terrifying moment the power died down without a trace. The skeptic gulped, looking as if he'd nearly pissed himself.

"C-coming," he said, before rushing behind Himaru.

"Good," Himaru chirped. "Got everything you guys need?" Wordlessly, a few blushing ninja rushed back into the cabins to grab personal items and supplies. "Good then." Himaru performed a few basic hand seals.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!" The ensuing fireball burned the campsite to the ground, leaving nothing but ash. "One last thing before we go," Himaru added as he readied the power for a mass teleportation. "Don't try anything sneaky in the village, because I seriously doubt any of you want to face the wrath of the ex-Devil of the Mist and his apprentice, not to mention me." Nervous silence reigned among the missing ninja as he shouted out the jutsu.

"Taijuu Shunshin no Jutsu!" Roughly an hour after the first puff of smoke came another, and a lone Himaru appeared only a few meters away from his sleeping comrades.

"That went smoother than expected," he said, slowly making his way toward the campsite and dispelling his clone. "Just about drained me of human chakra, though." Himaru coughed to clear his throat. "Hey! Guys!" In blurs of motion the other jounin were on their feet and primed for combat.

"What's the problem?" Kakashi said as he scanned their surroundings with his one eye.

"The enemy's camp kind of blew up." There was a pause.

"PLEASE EXPLAIN, HIMARU-SAN!" Even when he was groggy Gai was louder than a foghorn.

"Bright light, I checked it out, nothing there but ash and a few huddled foot prints and dead bodies. Looks like they had a bit of a group disagreement and the survivors teleported away after destroying their tracks." Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed.

"Why didn't you awake us earlier?" Himaru shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"You guys looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you."

"YOSH! TRULY YOUR FLAMES BURN BRI-!" The sound of breaking bones ended Gai's tirade early.

"It's WAY too early for this, Gai," Anko said, punctuating each of her words by grinding down on his foot with hers a little harder.

"Could you identify the bodies?" Kakashi asked, doing his best to stay on topic. Himaru shook his head.

"They were pretty mangled and burnt. Somebody over there was pissed."

"Damn, I was really hoping for some excitement," Anko mumbled, but quickly brightened. "Of course, there are two kind of action…"

"I say we go back to Konoha," Himaru said suddenly, any trace of weariness gone. Kakashi shook his head, and Himaru could have sworn that the bastard was smirking.

"It's late, and we're tired. Take a nap, I'm too wired now to sleep again."

"Gee, thanks Kakashi," Himaru muttered through gritted teeth.

"So where's your sleeping bag?" Anko purred strutting right up next to him.

'Oh god pockets don't fail me now,' Himaru thought as he reached down into the depths of his pants. 'Yeah, my uncle definitely hates me,' he thought as his hand came back up empty.

**Late, I know, but good right? Next chapter should have some NaruHina fluff, hopefully. If anyone can guess what Himaru means with those last words than they get a cookie. The answer next chapter. Please read and review!**


	32. The Librarian

**I know this is late, and it's completely my fault. I'm really sorry; it's just that I have a lot of other responsibilities and hobbies and I'm starting to lose passion for this story. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to keep this story up. Also, the answer to what Himaru meant at the end of the last chapter: since his father is the Shinigami, I assumed his uncle is probably Kami himself. Most of the people who guessed got it right, although there was one person who just demanded a cookie…Anyway, to all the people who were correct summons a giant basket and an odd looking machine gun Cookie Dispenser no Jutsu!**

Naruto growled at the Kumo shinobi. Judging by the vests the enemies were at least chuunin level, not to mention Shino was who-knows-where being ambushed by an enemy of unknown abilities. The odds were definitely not in their favor. Naruto knew he could take at least one, probably two if he went all out, but he wasn't sure about Hinata and Kiba. Both of them seemed awfully scared.

"Killing intent, dammit!" Naruto cursed, having forgotten for a moment that few mortals could affect a hanyou with their blood lust. The three enemies closed in, and Naruto's teammates were still in shock, but at least he had the element of surprise. And the killing intent of a millennia old demon lord at his disposal. A roar exploded from Naruto's throat like a wild animal, and the killing intent hit the Kumo-nin like a tidal wave. Their own blood lust was crushed like an ant under an elephant, and Naruto used his new opening. He lunged forward and nailed the kunoichi in the center with a sold Akaken to the gut. The life went out of her in a gush of blood from her mouth.

"M-monster!" the second two shouted, finally regaining their wits. One of them engaged Naruto in taijutsu, and the blond quickly realized he had a problem. At first the ninja's motions were erratic with fear, but quickly became lethal and precise. Every one of Naruto's attacks was deflected at the wrist or forearm, and he could hear the third ninja chanting a jutsu.

"Gatsuuga!" As if they'd done it a million times before, Naruto perfectly sidestepped one of Kiba's fanged hurricanes, so not one but two ninja were hit dead on.

"Watch it Dog Boy, you nearly got me too!" Naruto shouted, but he was already grinning.

"Shut up you ingrate!" Naruto laughed but turned to Hinata.

"Kiba and I've got things here. You go find Shino, 'kay?"

"O-okay." Hinata's eyes pulsed into the Byakugan and she dove into the woods. 'I'm so useless, I couldn't even help Naruto-kun when those ninja attacked.' The image of the Kumo kunoichi lying dead on the ground flashed in those white eyes. 'He had to kill for us…' A spark of determination blazed into a bonfire. "I won't let my team down again!"

With Kiba and Naruto, the fight had just gotten a little more complicated. Both the enemies had this strange rock clone technique, and now the two genin (and one dog) were surrounded back-to-back. "I blame you." Naruto spared an affronted look at Kiba.

"How is this my fault?" Kiba shrugged.

"Because it is." And then they came. Two dozen bodies of stone descended down upon them like an avalanche.

"Duck! Bakuyaku Tsuba no Jutsu!" Kiba dropped to the ground just in time as a rain of chakra washed overhead like a lawn sprinkler. Only one thing was heard above the storm of explosions.

"Are you fucking insane, Naruto!?"

Shino was faring poorly against his opponent. A lightning and fire specialist was not a good match against a bug user. Every wave of Kikaichu he sent out were burnt to a crisp, add that to the ones that got zapped by electrical jutsu every time Shino had to switch places with a bug clone, and he was starting to run low on bugs.

"Die, Aburame! Raiton: Raidan no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Blast Technique)!" A single concentrated bolt of energy struck Shino in the chest. He dropped like a sack of bricks and lay motionless. The Kumo shinobi, Giichi, smirked and pulled out a kunai. "And now to make su-gh!" Blood trickled out of the ninja's mouth as he swung around to face his new opponent. "Hyuuga!" he spat, but that one word gave Hinata enough time to deliver two more punishing blows to his torso. The normally shy girl was filled with rage. She's almost let down Kiba and Naruto, and now Shino could be dead because she was too slow.

"Damn you!" she cursed, pushing the attack forward. Blow after blow rained down on the Kumo-nin, until eventually the only thing holding his body up anymore was the continued force of Hinata's strikes. Finally, his body collapsed in on itself from the damage the Jyuuken had done. Still in the rush of adrenaline, Hinata rushed to Shino's side. 'Thank-Kami, he's still breathing.' The rush left her, and Hinata came to a terrible realization. She'd just killed a man.

Naruto poked the Kumo-nin's body with his foot. "Looks like the blast knocked them out."

"We don't have time to goof off, Naruto-baka! We have to go check up on Shino and Hinata!"

"I'm not goofing off!" Naruto retorted, but Kiba had already disappeared into the foliage. "Wait up!" Without a second thought Naruto leapt after him to find their teammates.



Sakura was tired, but proud. She'd passed all of the Godaime's tests, and started her real training. Sakura giggled a little bit as she remembered Tsunade's face. The medical genius hadn't really had a plan for training; she'd expected Sakura to take all day. Tsunade looked like a fish out of water for a good five minutes! Sakura's muscles panged in retort, as if Tsunade could here her. Since the Slug-Sannin hadn't had any more medical training prepared, she'd decided to test Sakura's combat abilities. Well, more like her dodging abilities.

"Now I know how Naruto feels," Sakura mumbled as she made her way to Himaru's house. "Maybe this is Kami's way of telling me to go easier on him? Nah."

"The idiot probably enjoys it." Sakura stopped in mid-step.

"Ino? Oh, uh, how are you? Got back from the mission already?"

"Yeah, shouldn't you be going after Sasuke now?" A frown tugged at Sakura's lips.

"He probably needs to rest Ino. I'm not some obsessive fan-girl." Sparks of lightning raced between them.

"Yeah? Well neither am I!"

"That's not what Sasuke-kun thinks!" Sakura knew it was harsh, but she really wasn't in the mood to play around with Ino right now.

"Sasuke can fornicate with a spork for all I care!" Now that was unexpected.

"I-Ino?" The blonde girl sighed as the anger visibly drained out of her.

"You won him fair and square Sakura. Besides there are other fish in the sea." Ino's previous scowl was replaced with a playful smirk. "After all, Naruto isn't such a shrimp anymore." Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

"No chance, Ino-pig. Naruto's fallen for Hinata, even if he hasn't realized it yet." Ino pouted and stuck her tongue out.

"Fine, Forehead-girl. I'll get someone even better than Sasuke!"

"Like Shikamaru or Chouji?" Ino gagged for a moment, but then both girls burst out laughing. "It's good to have you back, Ino-chan."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan."



"Okay, this house was not here a second ago." Kiba stared at the small hut and the grinning blond boy propped up against it.

"Clones don't have to be people, Dog-Boy." Kiba ignored the comment, instead choosing to try opening the door.

"There's no way in Hell. You'd have to know the construction of a house inside and out."

"What do you mean? A house is just some wood with a hinged opening. Duh." Kiba opened and closed his mouth.

"Never mind. We need to get Shino to bed." Naruto grinned again, mentally proclaiming that he had won the 'argument'.

As Kiba and Naruto gently hoisted Shino onto a clone-bed, Hinata stood just outside the door, staring down at the ground. 'I killed a man.' That same mantra repeated over and over in her head, beating at her conscious like a drum. She knew it was the way of the ninja, but why did it hurt so much? He'd been trying to kill Shino.

"Yoohoo? Earth to Hinata-chan?" Hinata jumped at the hand waving in front of her face.

"O-oh, h-h-hello, N-Naruto-kun."

"What's the matter? Are you hurt?" Hinata resumed the inspection of her feet.

"N-no. It's just that I-I-I k-killed someone." She couldn't see it, but Naruto frowned.

"He was an enemy. You had no choice." Hinata didn't move. "I know it's hard, I've had to kill a lot of people lately." Hinata gasped as Naruto adopted a sad, somber tone. She gasped again when his hand grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look him in the eye, sapphire blue to pale lavender.

"Don't let it get to you. It's what we do, and they're the enemy. It's either them or your precious people. Remember that, and it'll all be fine." Naruto patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. We'll all be your friend not matter what." With that, Naruto poofed three more beds into existence. "Now get some sleep. Kiba and I can take care of Shino."

"No." Shock was visible on Naruto's face as Hinata shook her head from side to side. "I practice medicine. I can help." The shock turned into a foxy grin.

"You're even prettier when you don't stutter."

Team 8 and Naruto finally made it to their destination. After recovering from a surprisingly brief fainting spell, Hinata had applied ample medical salve to Shino's lightning burns and bandaged all his minor injuries as well. Now they were in the town their scroll was meant for.

"I wonder what those Kumo-nin wanted it for? The scroll, I mean?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Since the invasion, word has spread that Konoha is weakened. They were probably just there to make it look like the village couldn't even complete simple tasks," Shino answered.

"Oh. Why would they want to do that?" Anime fall-down.

"You idiot! Its so they could make the village look unreliable in front of potential clients!" Kiba shouted, secretly glad the blond was looking like an idiot again.

"But that's so stupid! I mean, sending chuunin and jounin after genin doesn't prove anything!" Kiba sighed, but this time Shino answered.

"The average civilian clientele doesn't understand our ranking system. A failure is simply a failure." Naruto mumbled about dumb clients all the way to the town's mayor.

"Hey, can we stop for ra-"

"No."

"But Shino, I'm really-"

"We need to deliver the scroll."

"It'll only-"

"No means no, Naruto." Unbeknownst to the others, Shino's eye was starting to twitch. It only got worse when he noticed there was no further complaint. "He just left, didn't he?"

"Looks like it," Kiba answered, totally unaware we was about to witness something incredible, something all but unheard of. Shino exploded.

"SON OF A &#$ MOTHER&$#ING &!&#$!"

"Sh-Shino-kun?" Hinata asked, absolutely petrified. In an instant, the death cloud dissipated and Shino returned to his normal, stoic self.

"We're running late. Leave him." Hinata slowly nodded, and leapt up to the roofs with her teammates. Kiba motioned for Hinata to fall back and leaned toward her.

"Have you EVER seen Shino like that?" he whispered. Hinata shook her head.

"I-I hope he's all right."

"I can hear both of you."

"EEP!" They both squealed and hurriedly broke apart. The rest of the brief trip was quiet. They found the tall mayor's building with ease, and were swiftly escorted into the mayor's office.

"So you're the Konoha shinobi with the scroll?" Shino nodded, acting as group speaker, before wordlessly handing over the scroll.

"Ah, excellent. Now I have a second mission for you-"

"It is against protocol to accept a mission without the Hokage's approval." The mayor's face turned from calm to desperate.

"Please, it's simple! There's a boy in the village. He's possessed by some sort of demon that's causing him to rot away! I want you all to kill him before the demon can spread to another host! I'll pay double the normal mission cost!"

"Very well, we shall observe the host and see what can be done." The mayor bowed low enough to nearly hit his head on his desk.

"Thank-you, thank-you! Here." He handed Shino a piece of paper with an address written on it. "Please, just do it. And…make it quick for the poor boy." Shino grunted, then headed out the door. Team 8 was barely out of the building when Kiba burst with questions.

"What are you doing, Shino!? We can't take a mission to kill someone by ourselves! I mean, rules aside, what if he is a demon?"

"I never said we would kill him. I said we would observe the boy. After that we will return to Konoha and inform Hokage-sama." Kiba seemed satisfied with this answer, but Hinata still looked a little pale.

"H-he said th-that the host w-was rotting a-a-alive…" she mumbled. Kiba involuntarily shivered.

"Poor bastard. Maybe we should…you know…out of mercy?"

"No. It is against protocol. We shall observe him, and that is that. This is reconnaissance."

"What's reconnaissance?" Only Shino didn't jump when Naruto spoke.

"Are you full now, Naruto-san?" Shino inquired, and bloodlust radiated from his voice despite its calm tone.

"Er, yeah, I feel a lot better now," Naruto replied. "So who do we need to observe again?" the blond added, eager to change the subject.

"The mayor believes there is a demon-possessed boy in the village. He says the boy is slowly rotting away and that he wants us to kill him before the demon can spread to another host." Naruto shivered, much like Kiba before him.

'Kyuubi, do you sense a demon in this town?' The great beast was silent for a moment.

**'There is something faint, but no demon would literally rot his host away. Too dangerous for the demon. Perhaps…'**

'Kyuubi?' Naruto inquired after the giant fox went quiet again.

**'I have heard of a minor demon clan that possesses the ability to rot things away with a single touch, even themselves in order to scare humans. It could be possible that one of these demons bred with a human, and over the generations the human blood watered down the ability to nothing but an extremely painful disease. It probably can't even be spread. I'd wager the boy could be no more than an eighth demon for something like this to happen.'**

'I think we've found a new villager.'

**'Kit, he's rotting away. I can't imagine he'll live any longer than- You're going to try **_**that **_**aren't you?' **Naruto mentally shrugged.

'What's he got to lose?'

"Earth to Naruto, you there dumb ass?" Naruto snapped out of his mental conversation and glared daggers at Kiba's grinning face.

"Who are you calling a dumb ass, Dog Breath?"

"I'm not the one staring off into space like an idiot!"

"Doggy!"

"Dipshit!"

"Furry!"

"Idiot!"

"Both of you please shut up." Naruto and Kiba immediately clammed up, lest they enrage Shino further.

"Okay, so where is this guy's house?" The aura of certain death dissipated.

"This way," Shino replied, once again in his typical monotone.

"Alrighty, lead the w-oahh…" Naruto stumbled suddenly as several shadow clones dispelled themselves. A flood of new information entered Naruto's system from the village. Construction projects, the academy, new ninja-all of it.

"Nice work Himaru-sensei," he muttered still in a bit of a daze.

"N-Naruto-kun? A-are y-you alright?" Hinata asked as Naruto tilted back and forth on his feet from data overload.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned to reassure her. "Now let's go meet this guy!" 'I almost forgot about the shadow cones. How'd they last so long?'

**'That would be me, kit. I tampered a little with the jutsu, but even I have my limits from within this seal. Sounds like Karite found a new Jinchuuriki.'**

'I know I can't wait to- Hey, how come you didn't tell me you could buff up my jutsu?'

**'Kit, my chakra or your hanyou chakra always strengthens your attacks.'**

'Yeah, but, you didn't tell me you were going to put your chakra into the jutsu when I did it!'

**'…I assumed you could feel the differences between our chakra…'**

'Er, yeah, I totally can! I just…wasn't expecting is all!'

**'My poor, foolish little host…'**

'SHUT-'

"Hey, idiot, quit daydreaming! We're here!" Naruto snapped out of his mental link with Kyuubi. He'd forgotten they'd been running the whole time.

'Gotta watch you for that,' he noted before finally retorting to Kiba's insult. "At least I have enough brainpower TO daydream!"

"What?! That doesn't make any-"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" It was hard to tell because of the sunglasses, but Naruto was pretty sure Shino's eyes were red with rage.

"S-sure, Shino," Kiba whimpered, Akamaru mimicking him. Shino grunted before once again returning to his usual self.

"Naruto, are you able to recollect the information of dispelled shadow clones?" Naruto nodded slowly, afraid that speaking would set of Shino's new temper.

"Then I would suggest conjuring a clone to enter the house to observe and find the possessed-boy."

"Oh, good idea Shino!" Naruto made the familiar cross-shaped hand seal and a single clone poofed into existence. It's orders already ingrained into its existence, the clone eagerly bounded through the door of the rickety old home.

The inside was just as ordinary and old as the exterior. The only personality the house had was the stench of rotten flesh. "Hello?" the clone shouted, its voice echoing through the house like a canyon. The clone casually waltzed down a hallway. It lacked the Kyuubi's ability to sense such a faint demonic aura, but the smell of rotting flesh was getting stronger. As the clone followed its nose, shelves of books started to appear along the walls.

The closer it got to the source of the smell, the more books there were. It was like a library in here!

"Who's there?" A voice croaked. The clone dashed for the noise, finally reaching a door. It swung the door open and was greeted by a strange sight. Hidden among shelves upon shelves of books, there was a human for draped under a sheet. All the clone could see was half the person's face. He was handsome, so far as the clone could tell. Ruffled brown hair and pale skin. The eyes were what really identified the hiding boy though. They were a deep black, and were haunted with pain.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Well, technically a clone, but anyway-"

"What does a Konoha shinobi want with me? Have the villagers finally decided to end me?" The tone wasn't fearful or even sad, just bored and scratchy from under use.

"Eh, no…well, technically yes but I'm not going to! And how'd you know I was a ninja."

"Hitai-ate. There in all the books on ninja."

"Oh, so you read a lot, huh?" The clone asked, hoping to bring things to a lighter note.

"Nothing else you can do when intense movement racks your body with pain."

'Well that failed,' the clone thought.

"Okay, so where'd you get all these books?" The boy raised his lone eyebrow, his own eye changing from boredom to curiosity.

"An old man who owned a bookstore took care of me when I was little. Left the books to me when he died. Why?"

"Just curious," the clone replied, grinning. "I'm always looking for new friends."

"Hard to be friends with someone whose mere presence will kill you."

'Strike two,' the clone thought. "No it won't. Only reason the real me isn't here is because he doesn't want to let his team know about his little secret yet."

"He's a Jinchuuriki or a hanyou?" The clone face-faulted.

"How did you-"

"I read a ninjutsu scroll on sensing different types of chakra. You felt odd, thought I first thought it was because you were a clone."

"Damn, you do read a lot…wait, how'd you know the difference between demon and human chakra anyway?"

"Villagers occasionally stop by the door or windows to throw books into the house. The old man was respected throughout the community for his wisdom, and for his sake I receive some kindness. I owe him much, even if it was his death that prompted people to believe my disease could be spread."

"Harsh, but you should know, you're not really sick." The clone received a disappointed look from the boy.

"You of all people don't really believe I'm possessed by some kind of demon, do you?" The clone rapidly shook its head.

"No, no, well sort of. See, according to the real me's demon, you're _part _demon."

"…You're insane, aren't you?"


	33. Sorry

**I can't believe I'm doing this (sigh). For the first time in my life I have run dry on a story. However I don't want to abandon all the people who like this fic, so instead of abandoning the story, I'm going to rewrite it! My writing style has gotten better since I started this fic and there really isn't a plot yet I have somehow managed to create plot holes. I still like the general idea and characters of this story, I'm just going to brainstorm and overhaul it. Himaru will still teach Team 7, Anko will still stalk him, Orochimaru will still probably be a good guy, Zabuza and Haku will still live, I'm just gonna change some of the details. Trust me, it will be much better. And there will be a plot! Now just please wait patiently for the rewrite, I've got a few ideas and they should start flooding me pretty soon. I'm really sorry about this!**


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